


Sacrifice

by CMA6725



Category: Zorro (TV 1990)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blackmail, Change of Fate, Crime Fighting, Death of major character, Duelling, Execution, F/M, Family, Implied Sexual Content, Kidnapping, Politics, Shooting, Torture, Travel, Twins, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 86,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26110081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMA6725/pseuds/CMA6725
Summary: After Gilberto Risendo's death, Ignacio de Soto started putting things together and found out the true identity of his nemesis. Giving Diego the choice to dissapear from his loved ones' lives on his terms, he blackmails him into accompanying him to Spain, where Ignacio intends to deliver Zorro to the King. Yet, after several months and many adventures together, by the time they arrive, he is no longer ready to accept the punishmet Ferdinand the VIIth has in store for his nemesis. Nor is Diego ready to find out the truth about his twin brother the day before he is supposed to be executed.Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Victoria gives birth to Diego's twins, passing them as such at Felipe's idea, despite not yet knowing their true parentage. Furthermore a cruel alcalde takes De Soto's place, and Felipe needs to take over Diego's fight, while Victoria moves to the hacienda.As destinies collide, and all decisions prove to have far more unexpected consequences than one would ever believe, Los Angeles, Victoria, Don Alejandro and even Felipe are, more than ever, in need of a hero. But he doesn't return alone.Not a tragedy, although it may look that way at times. I like HEAs too much...
Relationships: Family - Relationship, Friendship - Relationship, Love - Relationship, Victoria Escalante/Diego de la Vega
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	1. Before I go

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OCs and the ideas for the plot, make no money on it and only write to exorcise the stories from my brain :P  
> Reviews are always appreciated, so let me know what you think!  
> Much of the first chapter is not suitable for young audiences.  
> Enjoy!

It was a rather cold night and the pueblo was in a grim mood when the masked outlaw made his way towards Los Angeles, with the sole intention of seeing the woman he loved. Leaving Tornado in the tavern's stables, he climbed on the building's roof and headed for his lady's window. He was feeling tired and could barely get the strength to climb, his balance not as perfect as usual as he hadn't given himself the time to recover. However, since he was leaving, most probably forever, he needed to see her, to feel her, to kiss her one last time. He also needed to take back the ring he had given her and set her free to be happy without him.

"Victoria!" he whispered as he swiftly entered her room.

"Zorro!" she let out a cry and rushed into his arms, sobbing. The young woman had been crying inconsolably since morning, and she craved the feeling of his soothing embrace, as she was certain that only his presence would be able to calm her down. "Just hold me!" she begged him, for the first time in the last twelve hours, able to stop her tears. There was something about him, she realized, that made the whole reason for her distress seem like nothing more than a bad dream. "It's been an awful day and I needed you like I need air. I so hoped I would see you tonight!" Victoria whispered, still holding on to him as for dear life.

"It's alright! I'm here!" he answered.

"Why didn't you do anything? How could you let it happen?" she reproached him, as she finally let go of her tight embrace to look him in the eyes.

He knew what she was asking about, although her reaction was a little more extreme than even he had imagined.

"I can't be everywhere, my love." He answered.

"I still can't believe he's dead! I…I saw him lying there, I saw the bullet hole through his chest…I went to his funeral…but I still can't believe he's gone! That I'll never see or hear him again!"

"I'm so sorry, Victoria!" he apologized sincerely, but not for the reason she believed he was apologizing.

She reached to kiss him and saw that tears were also racing down his cheeks. It was somehow comforting to know he was sharing her grief, or, at least, that was what Victoria imagined.

"He had been missing for over two days when they found him! During all that time, I never, for even one moment, had any doubt that he was still alive…in my foolishness, I even thought he had gotten himself lost!" she started sobbing again. "What kind of friend was I to think that, while he was lying dead in the middle of nowhere, ripped from us without even the chance of saying goodbye? I can't even understand why! Why would someone have wanted to hurt him? He was the kindest person I've ever met!"

"Not everything happens for a reason, Victoria." he lied. "Sometimes things are as they are and all we can do is accept them and move on. I know he wouldn't have wanted you to be sad about his passing, just as I am sure he wouldn't have wanted you to fault yourself for your thoughts. You were a good friend, and he always knew that!"

"No, I wasn't… He deserved so much better from me! I should have behaved so much better! He was always so good to me, always ready to help me! And what did I do? Incessantly compare him to you... I never even told him…"

"What, Victoria?"

"I never told him…that I loved him."

"I'm sure he knew you cared for him!"

"No…" she relinquished his embrace and turned around, arms folded around her waist, unable to face him. "I don't mean I loved him like a friend. I loved him… I loved him like I love you! I… I know it sounds absurd. How could I love two men at the same time? But I did. I was jealous of any woman paying him the slightest attention; I was constantly waiting for him to come in for a meal, just so that I could talk to him; I even asked him to give me that stupid advice column just to have more reasons to see him. Now he's dead and I never got the chance to tell him… to let him know how I really felt about him, how much he meant to me."

Hearing her say those things somehow eroded all his determination and left him unable to do what he was set on doing. A plan was in motion and Victoria was giving him the opportunity to split up with her, take his ring back honorably, and leave her to a find someone else to give her the life she deserved. Yet, there he was, completely unable to move or tell her what he had come to say.

He hadn't lied when he told her he knew that she cared for him…for the unmasked half of him. Truth be told, if he would have really passed away that day, he would have died knowing she loved not only Zorro but also Diego. He had seen the signs, he knew exactly why she behaved with him the way she did, always teasing and provoking him. He had seen the desire in her eyes when he had come so close to kiss her in that windmill. If he would have had the slightest hope that he could marry her without fearing his secret might have meant a death sentence also for his wife, should it ever be discovered, the man behind the mask had no doubt that Victoria would have accepted a marriage proposal coming from her best friend. Unfortunately, his fears proved right and the future he had dreamt of having with the woman he loved would never come to pass.

All he had…all they had, was one last night.

So, when Victoria did not dare face him again, he drew her in his arms, turning her around and leaned down to kissed her with all the passion and desperation his heart could carry. As for her, she just let herself get lost in him, as her hands instinctively started unbuttoning his shirt. He thought about stopping her for a few moments, but he lacked the power to do so. He reasoned to himself that, if he was to stand any chance of enduring what was to come, he needed the memory of at least one night spent with the woman he so loved. Thus, if that night was to be the only chance for them to be together, together they would be.

The young woman was hoping that his obvious decision to make her his meant she would finally see his face so she reached to untie the nod holding his mask in place. When she did that, though, he shackled her hands in his, and only released them to go close the window, hidding it behind the heavy curtains. Returning to her, he then put out the candle on her bedstand lightening up the room.

"No…" Victoria tried to stop him but hadn't realized in time what he was doing. "It's…it was for him…"

He smiled sadly, in the darkness, at the idea that he had just extinguished the candle Victoria had lightened in memory of her friend Diego, the same man who was alive, hiding under a mask, about to selfishly make love to her for the first and, quite certainly, the last time.

When he returned to her, he took her hands and placed them on the knot tying up his mask, allowing her to untie it and let it slip to the floor. She could not see him, but she was still happy to run her fingers through his hair, trying to commit to memory the shape of his face, of his eyes, his high forehead, the feeling of his hair tickling her skin. For several minutes, he just stood there, allowing her hands to roam his face. When she stopped touching him, just standing there, feeling his presence, he finally gave himself to the passion and longing he had felt for her ever since he had returned from Madrid.

As for Victoria, while he lay her on the bed, the young woman closed her eyes and, for a few moments, imagined it was Diego making love to her. She also felt ashamed of what she was doing, fantasizing that a man who was already dead, forever lost to her, was her lover, while the living man she adored was right there, in her arms, whispering words of love in her ear, awakening muscles she didn't know she possessed and sensations which were bringing her on the edge of reason.

As their bodies parted some time later, leaving paradise to return to that dark room and even grimmer reality seemed like the most painful thing they could do.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, hoping she would say no.

"It only hurt a little." Victoria tried to assure him, although he sensed that she was lying. It had hurt her more than a little, but she had enjoyed their lovemaking, despite the pain - which, for some reason having to do with all the guilt she was feeling thinking of Diego,- Victoria was happy to embrace as rightfully deserved. "Did you…did it feel the same for you as it felt for me?"

"I didn't dare hope it would feel so right, certainly not considering that what we did…what I did, was wrong. We should have done this on our wedding night, not…"

"Don't!" she asked him. "Please don't blame yourself for making love to me! I wanted it, as well. I needed… I needed it. I didn't even know how much, especially today…" Victoria uttered, her tears restarting, gushing down her cheeks as soon as the words she wanted to say got stuck in her throat. Surely it would have been wrong to tell the man she belonged to that it was another she had thought about while making love to him.

Was it also wrong that she had done it when that man was now gone, a spirit able to see into her soul, to hear her thoughts? What would Diego think of her right at that moment, she wondered. Would he be disappointed? Disgusted? Upset with her? Enraged? Perhaps just thinking of him could somehow conjure his spirit in her bedroom. Perhaps she had conjured him, and he was there, just looking at her in bed with Zorro, a man whose face she hadn't even seen yet, but to whom she had given herself fully, asking for nothing in return.

Would he be sad that she never offered herself to him, the one man she knew like the back of her hand, and gave herself, instead, to a man whose mere name she ignored? She had done it in grief and desperation, she had done it because she was blaming herself and because she felt Zorro's own sadness. But would Diego justify her actions the same way, or would he scold her? Would he admonish her more for doing what she did, for not regretting her actions, for giving herself to a stranger, or for never saying a word about how she truly felt about him?

Victoria wasn't sure. All she was certain about was that she needed to cry. So she buried her head in Zorro's chest, her tears washing away his sweat as they fell. All her lover could do was hold her in his arms and caress her hair, allowing his own silent tears to fall at realizing he needed to leave her soon and be out of her life forever.

Diego briefly thought about telling her the truth, knowing fully well that she would soon mourn two men, instead of just one. He rapidly changed his mind, though, at realizing the damage such a decision might inflict on her. It was enough that he had pained Felipe with that knowledge. His father was already heartbroken, but, at least, as far as the old don knew, his son had had a quick and painless death. A bullet through his heart is certainly better than the fate Diego knew awaited him. Don Alejandro had already buried him and Felipe was there to replace the son he no longer had. It was the merciful thing to do for the old man who had raised him. He needn't know that his only remaining son was an outlaw, nor what was to happen to him.

Lying there in his arms, crying, Victoria's lips soon started wandering on his chest, drawn to his, tracing kisses up his neck, towards his soft lips, as his body was slowly preparing itself to, once more, rejoin hers in the ancestral ritual of love.


	2. A trapped Fox

Victoria fell asleep again, crying in Zorro's arms, but he could not close an eye that night. He was feeling guilty that he had acted on his lust, that he had allowed sorrow to overcome his logic. More than anything, though, he was regretful he hadn't done it sooner, that she was only to be his for one night, when they could have spent so many in each other's arms, during all those years they had both wasted, waiting for a future that was never to come.

When he was certain that she was fast asleep, he slowly slid from underneath her and onto the floor, silently looking for his clothes in the darkness, and putting them on as fast as he could. The last thing he did before kissing her lips for the last time, was to take back the ring he had given her and which he knew that Victoria was keeping in her jewelry box.

Felipe was waiting in the cave when he returned home, sleeping on some grain sacks, and Diego decided against waking up his adopted son. Still dressed as Zorro, he went to his desk and started composing a letter for his father. Having seen the old don's grief at burying his only son, he had realized that he couldn't just disappear from his life without, at least, some parting words and partial explanations. Once he finished it, he decided he owed the same to Victoria and after writing that second letter, he wrote one more for his son, despite the fact that, at least in the case of the latter, he could still tell him everything he needed to say before his departure. Thus, unlike the other two he had written, the letter for Felipe included no dishonesty, no lie about the reasons behind it. They had both discussed his reasons. They had also discussed their options and realized there was none. None that would avoid the inevitable, at least.

De Soto knew who Zorro was and had known his identity for months. Diego had thought that his old schoolmate would hang him as soon as he called him by his name on that nightly visit to his office, but he was surprised to realize that the older man had other plans in mind.

Ignacio did not, as expected, jump at the chance to make good on the promise he had made Zorro when he had first arrived. Instead, he had offered him a deal. One that would allow for him to fade away from the lives of those he loved, with some dignity and without placing them in any further danger due to the decisions he had taken. The Alcalde had even allowed Diego to draw up the plan to do so, and helped him carry it out. The caballero reasoned it was because, in spite of all his shortcomings, De Soto did not care about confiscating his family's land, nor did he fancy the idea of publicly taking the life of Don Alejandro's only remaining son, after having already killed the other. He was, in fact, only interested in capturing his masked nemesis and in the reward that capture would bring him. He was also smart enough to realize that the true identity of Zorro was a problem from the perspective of his previous actions, having saved the man when the Royal Emissary was about to kill him.

A good chemist, and in possession of vast medical knowledge, Diego knew of poisons which made people seem dead. He used some animal blood and gunpowder to burn a hole in his white shirt, and the poison, together with some stage makeup and on-site setting, fooled every Los Angelino into believing that Diego de la Vega had been killed by some mysterious bandits. The tracks he made sure to leave around spoke of five men on horseback, who had tied up his wrists and his ankles, never giving him a chance to escape. With the doctor away from town, it was none other than the Alcalde to confirm his death and find the tracks left by the imaginary thugs, De Soto having played his own role to perfection.

Zorro, however, was a different story. In order for nobody to suspect they were one and the same, the masked bandit needed to still be seen alive after Diego de la Vega had been laid to his eternal rest. That was also because Ignacio had his own plans for the masked bandit and some vengeance to inflict on him.

ZZZ

Felipe woke up to find Diego watching over him and immediately started signaling frantically, asking why had he taken so long to return.

"I spent the night with Victoria, Felipe." He answered honestly, hoping that his son might understand.

The young man nodded, then turned away to wipe a tear, not wishing to show his father any sign of weakness.

"I want you to deliver some letters for me, son." Diego stated, with a sad smile, noticing the gesture.

The younger man turned around and signaled *I thought you didn't want them to know that you were Zorro!*

"I don't. It's not those letters I want delivered." He explained. "I wrote new ones. I made it seem like they were written the week after Gilberto had almost shot me. I need to say goodbye to them properly so that they could both go on with their lives. There is one for you, too, if you'll need it."

The younger man said nothing just launched himself into his father's arms sobbing.

"It's alright, Felipe! It's alright!" He tried to reassure him. "Who knows? Maybe the King will be merciful. Trust me: if I can find a way to return, I will, no matter how long it might take!"

Felipe raised his head to look at Diego and nodded again, confident that he would, indeed, do everything in his power to keep his promise. *What if…what is she's pregnant?* he asked his father, part of him hoping he might still decide to change his plans and somehow find another way.

Diego hadn't thought about it, but realized his son made a good point. If Victoria was pregnant with his child, he needed to find some way to make sure the child and the mother would be cared for. He pondered over that fact for a few minutes. "Felipe," he eventually asked "if there is a child, I will need you to make sure he or she is well cared for. I know I can trust you, son! But, under no circumstances are my father and Victoria ever to know the truth if the King decides to execute me. Can you promise me that?"

The younger man nodded and signaled that he would respect his wishes.

"Now," Diego said, getting up "have you done everything I asked you to?"

Felipe nodded sadly, then started gesturing, trying, one more time, to get his father to change his mind.

"No, Felipe." Diego replied "De Soto saved my life, I can't just take his. Let you do it? Not in a million years! It wouldn't even change anything! He was smart. He built the perfect trap. Not even Zorro can find his way out of this one! I'm afraid there's nothing to be done, son. I need to go with him or none of you will be safe."

*Let's just run away, all of us, then!* Felipe signaled. *We can cross the border into the United States!*

"And have you all branded as fugitives? If we do so, there will be prices on all of our heads, prices the bounty hunters will not let a border stop them from claiming. Furthermore, my father worked too hard for this ranch. I can't just ask him to give it up, nor can I ask Victoria to leave her tavern, as well as everyone and everything she knows and loves, when I'll have nothing to give her in return. And you…you deserve the future I wanted to offer you when I adopted you as my son! Besides, there are too many other people who depend on us: our tenants, our employees. What would happen to them if we run away? No, Felipe. I will not be selfish and I am not afraid. You know me better than to assume that of me!"

His son nodded, realizing he could not change his father's decision. In a way, he had already sacrificed himself for them all the day he put on the mask, and he had done it without any fear or concern for his own safety.

Checking on everything he needed for the next staging to go as planned and for the voyage ahead, Diego took two vials of poison with him, placing them in the saddlebags he had prepared for Felipe to leave in an already-agreed-upon location, then embraced his son one more time, before jumping on Tornado's back. "I'd rather you didn't come to the pueblo this morning," he told Felipe as he prepared to exit the cave "but Victoria might need you."

The younger man approved with tears in his eyes, signaling that he would be strong and take care of the woman his father loved, then took his goodbyes from the man who had raised him, leaving through the library and heading for the pueblo.

ZZZ

Pilar's knocks on the tavern's door woke Victoria up long past her normal waking hour. She found herself naked in her bed and wondered how she was feeling. Empty was the word her mind came up with. Hollow inside because of the death of her friend and secret crush, alone in that room she longed to share with the man she had promised herself to, resigned to a feeling of hopelessness she could not yet explain, even to herself. Empty.

Realizing she needed to get up before her employee would decide to get the lancers to knock down the entrance door, she stood up and somehow managed to clean herself up, using a cloth and some cold water. A little while later, she got dressed and made her way towards the entrance to open it.

"Victoria! ¡Gracias a Dios!" Pilar exclaimed. "When I saw you weren't opening, I dreaded…I mean…I know how much Don Diego's death affected you..."

"How would you?" Victoria asked in monotone.

"It was no secret for anyone that you loved him. He was more than your best friend, even if you never admitted it, and he was too silly to see it!"

"He wasn't silly!" the taverness protested, feeling a surge of anger "You have no right to say that about him! He was kind, and generous and always there for me, even when I treated him badly! He was always there for anyone who needed him!" she stated, her tears starting again to fall uncontrollably.

Pilar tried to embrace her, but Victoria withdrew, upset at her employee. "I didn't mean that…I am sorry, Victoria. We will all miss him very much!" the woman said kindly and Victoria finally agreed to an embrace.

"I never told him! I am so stupid! I loved him and I never told him!" She muttered amongst her sobbing.

Pilar had no answer to that, in her mind silently cursing Zorro who blinded her employer and friend to the man who could have offered her the life she deserved. She didn't hate the masked bandit. As everyone else in town, she admired him and cheered for him every time he came to the pueblo. However, she was unable to understand why he had decided to court Victoria, despite knowing he was unable to give her the family she wanted. In fact, amongst all of the taverness' friends, Pilar had been the only one excited to see her agree to Dona Maria introducing her to some potential suitors. When that happened, the young woman had hoped that, sensing his opportunity, Diego de la Vega might also decide to start courting her. She was disappointed when he did not and Victoria had rushed to accept Juan Ortiz's proposal but decided it was still better than to bet her entire life on an illusion. Yet that marriage did not materialize and the taverness was still single, now more than ever in the way of danger, as she had made her choice clear; and that choice was Zorro. Amazing, legendary, courageous, dangerous, mysterious Zorro, whose face and real name nobody knew even nine years after he had first appeared. Not even Victoria – of that Pilar was quite certain.

The two women had just opened the tavern, about half an hour later, when the object of the taverness' employee's curses materialized, as if summoned, in the pueblo's plaza. He had come to get the Alcalde to recant a new income tax he had faithfully copied from Luis Ramone's archives. As expected, people gathered to witness their hero's latest antics and were more than enthusiastic about his appearance. Victoria stepped on the porch, a strange look in her eyes as she was watching him. Pilar followed her outside, just as Felipe also arrived in the pueblo and headed for the two women.

The young man positioned himself just next to Victoria and watched, holding his breath, as the masked man disarmed the lancers and, ignoring his ladylove, was now fighting De Soto, taunting him.

Unexpectedly, the Alcalde drew a gun and shot him in his right shoulder, causing him to drop his sword and all the cheering to stop as the people watched with dread their hero stumbling to re-collect his Toledo-steel blade with the left hand. He fought bravely, but, unfortunately, his technique proved faulty enough to allow Ignacio to disarm him. A well-delivered punch then knocked him unconscious and, as Zorro fell to the ground, Felipe had to catch Victoria, who fainted.

De Soto shook his hand in pain, but his face only showed a deep satisfaction. "Tie him up!" He ordered Sepulveda as everyone was watching in disbelief.

"Shouldn't I take the mask off, first, Alcalde?" The corporal asked.

"No! Nobody touches that mask! Tie him up and put him on a horse!" De Soto ordered. Glancing around the plaza, his eyes rested on Felipe for a brief second, noticing he was holding the unconscious Victoria. "Sergeant!" "Si… Si, mi Alcalde!" Mendoza confirmed, at a loss to understand everything that was happening.

"I will be taking a trip." The white-haired man replied. "You are in charge of the pueblo for now." he decided and left, dragging the horse Zorro was on behind him, without a word about where he was heading.

"He's going to torture him!" someone stated as soon as the daze which had engulfed all those in the plaza finally passed. "We…we need to help Zorro!"

Other people agreed, but nobody made a move to follow the Alcalde, who was, by then, already a quarter of a mile away, heading towards a destination they ignored.

Two miles further, next to a cave situated close to the De la Vega hacienda, De Soto halted the horses and untied Zorro, who was just returning to his senses.

"Almost three years! That's how long I've wanted to do that!" Ignacio stated as the masked outlaw was checking the damage to his face.

Diego said nothing, just frowned as he replaced his shirt with a light-brown one which he took from the saddlebags Felipe had left for him in the cave. The black shirt was tainted with animal blood on its right shoulder, where the bullet wound (which they had also faked) was supposed to be, so he folded it carefully, before also taking it with him. He did the same with his black pants and the rest of his Zorro items, replacing them with vaquero-type clothes and placing them all in the saddlebags.

"You'd better fulfill your end of the deal, Ignacio!" he eventually uttered.

"Don't worry! As I had already told you," De Soto replied "I do not need to harm your family and Senorita Victoria and it's not in my best interest, either, for anyone to know the truth, considering I killed a Royal Emissary to save you."

"You killed Gilberto to save yourself, Ignacio!"

"True… but people think I did it for you, anyway. I will recover the letter for the Governor, once you are properly secured on the ship, behind locked bars. You'll have the pleasure of destroying it yourself. If you play by my rules, Diego, nobody will know your true identity and that of your accomplices."

"They were never my accomplices. I told you that already!"

"Maybe not all three of them… Victoria and Don Alejandro, indeed, don't seem to know. Felipe, on the other hand, I am quite certain is well aware of your less than legal activities. Although, I have no idea what help was a deaf-mute to you, other than bandaging your wounds. It doesn't really matter, anyway. We just need to get to Mexico City in time to stop the delivery of the second letter to the Viceroy, and to Madrid so that we can stop the one for the King. Your loved ones will be safe, I'll finally have my well-deserved promotion and you'll have the just punishment for your deeds! Everybody wins as far as I'm concerned!"

"You are deluded if you think anyone will win in this game of yours." Diego mumbled as he glued a heavy beard on his face and put on a hooded monk robe, while De Soto also put one on top of his official tunic.

Thus dressed, they made their way towards the port of San Pedro and boarded a ship due to leave that very morning for teh port of Acapulco, New Spain, De Soto as a passenger and Diego as his prisoner, locked up in a dirty cell.

The Alcalde complied with his promise, though, presenting Diego with the letter he had, a week earlier, instructed Sanchez to take to the port and, further, to the Governor. The poor man had not understood his commander's orders. It was, at least, strange to be asked to go to the Presidio by ship, when they normally rode there. Furthermore, it was even stranger when De Soto asked him to wait in San Pedro for five days before boarding any ship, forbidding him to interact with anyone and informing the lancer he was on a secret mission. The most baffling part of the entire affair was, however, the Alcalde finding him to retrieve the very subject of the secret mission, replacing it with a different envelope. As per De Soto's agreement with the governor, the envelope he was sending contained his last report as Alcalde of Los Angeles and finished with the phrase 'Finally, Your Excellency, I hereby inform you about the capture of the masked outlaw Zorro, who will be transported to Spain so that His Majesty, King Ferdinand the VIIth, could decide his just punishment.'


	3. past and present decisions

Having had a complete breakdown at not finding the ring Zorro had given her, after the man she loved had been taken away by De Soto, Victoria remained locked up in her room, no one except Pilar, being allowed in to see her after that horrible day. Her will to live gone, she was refusing any food, barely drinking some water or, at her employee’s insistence, some clear soup, and just lay in her bed, sleeping or looking at the ceiling, as her tears fell freely. 

Felipe could not bring himself to visit the taverness those first days, because he, too, was heartbroken and could hardly disguise his pain. A few days later, however, after giving both the young woman and his grandfather some needed time to grieve, he decided to fulfill Diego’s wish and give them the letters he had written for them, hoping they might bring the two some much-needed consolation. 

Before making the delivery, though, he read the one Diego left for him. It was a rather long letter, in which the man who had raised him as a son made sure to express all the gratitude he felt for having him in his life, and encouraged him to be strong and always believe in himself. Felipe did, however, notice that his adoptive father had not put in writing any encouragement to hold on to the hope that they might see each other again, in spite of what he had told him when they had parted. 

Taking a couple of hours to cry while thoroughly brushing Tornado, cleaning and dusting the cave, when he was finally able to recompose himself, the youngest De la Vega took the other two letters and, hiding one in his sash, headed for his grandfather’s room to deliver the one Diego had left for Don Alejandro. 

Barely making any noise, he crept into the room where the old man was lying in bed, opened the curtains without asking for permission and handed the protesting don the envelope.

“What is this, Felipe?” The old don wondered at recognizing his son’s handwriting.

Felipe signed *It’s from Father. He wrote one for each of us after the Emissary had almost killed him.*

Don Alejandro made him repeat twice before completely understanding what the young man was saying. When he did, he opened the envelope, with the same care one would use to open a reliquary, taking out the letter to read it. 

“Dear Father,” it started

“I am writing this letter while I am alive and well but, if you are reading it, I am probably no longer among the living. After Gilberto almost ended my life, I realized there are things I might not get the chance to tell you, plans I might never fulfill, and wishes that might never come true. I am not saying that this letter would be able to change much of that, but there are a few things I’d like for you to know, nevertheless. Some, I might have told you a million times, yet still need reminding; others I have never mentioned, so this might be my only chance to do so.

First and foremost, I want you to know that I have always loved you very much, Father. You have been my role model, the one man I admired and respected the most. You have given me a good life and a moral compass to guide me. You have given me the chance to travel and see the world, to study and to choose my own path. I have always been and will be grateful for all you have offered me.

Secondly, I’d like you to know that I would have wanted nothing better than to give you those grandbabies you so wished for. The reason that never happened is because the only woman I have loved, ever since my return to Los Angeles, is Victoria. I know I allowed you to believe I harbored nothing but brotherly feelings towards her, but that is not true, Father. The truth is I loved her for a very long time and with all my heart.

The main reason I never declared my love for her was Zorro, but not because of what you might be imagining, and certainly not because I feared his competition. The reason behind that decision, however, is to remain my secret.

If I am to die before having the chance to marry that wonderful woman, I beg you, Father, to take care of her and treat her like the daughter she is in your heart. I know she loves me as well, even if she never admitted it, probably not even to herself. I also know she might suffer to see me gone, just like I know you and Felipe will. It is my hope, however, that you will be there for each other, for the three of you are the people I love most in this world, my family, and all I truly ever wanted was for you to be happy and safe.

Father, I certainly regret that death is to separate us, but I wish for you to know that I do not fear it. I had long since accepted the simple truth that everything eventually ends, my life included. So, please, remember me as I was during the time we had together. Remember that I loved our hacienda, our pueblo, the freedom you allowed me to have, music, art, my books, The Guardian and even those stupid experiments about which you have always been so frustrated. I also want you to remember that every ounce of good I’ve ever done, I’ve done because you and Mother raised me to be the man that I am...or was, I should say. 

Thirdly, having lived most of my life under the same roof as you, I am rather certain that, after I’m gone, you might start blaming yourself for some of the things you’ve said to me, perhaps even reproaching yourself for some of the things you didn’t say. Please know, Father, that I have long since forgiven and forgotten every bad word. Also know that, as far as I am concerned, what you didn’t say with words, you always told me through your actions. You, thus, have nothing to regret or feel guilty about, because I’ve always known what was in your heart.

I am certain, Father, that we shall meet again one day, when your journey on this Earth will have also ended, but, if I am to die young, I pray that you die very old. Old enough to, at least, enjoy the great-grandchildren Felipe will make sure to provide you with, someday. It is said that the dead have all of Eternity at their disposal, and I’ve always been rather patient. I can wait.

So, if I don’t get the chance to say this in person, Father,

Goodbye and be well! 

Till we meet again,

Your loving son, 

Diego.”

Don Alejandro cried through reading the letter, and several more hours after putting it down and taking it back to re-read it. However, after four days in bed, mourning the loss of his son, the day after Felipe complied with his father’s wish and gave him the letter, the old don got up, washed, and returned, alas, slowly, to his daily routine. From that day on, making a silent promise to Diego to comply with his last wishes, he only allowed himself to shed a few tears, from time to time, mainly when, in the evening, he was passing by his son’s quarters. His new purpose in life was, now, to find his grandson a good young woman for him to marry, so that he might get his great-grandbabies, just as Diego had wanted.

ZZZ

A few hours after delivering the letter to Don Alejandro, Felipe had headed for town to deliver the second letter to Victoria. 

At that point he hadn’t seen her in three days and had more than a little shock at entering her room. In that short time which had passed since his father’s departure, the woman who should have been his adoptive mother, had become so thin and bony that she looked almost transparent, a mere specter of her former self. Victoria barely acknowledged his presence with a sad smile, before her eyes returned to face the ceiling, tears falling uncontrollably from them.

Felipe had to put the letter in her hand and raise it to her face so that she’d be able to see what it was. She looked at the envelope for five minutes before her mind registered it was from Diego. As that happened, she slowly stood up, into a seated position, and opened it as slowly and carefully as Don Alejandro had previously done with the letter Diego had meant for him.

“Dear Victoria,” he began,

“I have decided to write this letter, as well as a similar one for my father and another one for Felipe, after my brother, Gilberto, had come so close to taking my life. I realized then that the next time someone would try to kill me, I might not be the one lucky enough to survive the day. Consequently, I also realized that my life might very well end before I got the chance to tell those dearest to me all I need for them to know. 

It is strange how we keep postponing telling some truths because we always believe there’s more time. I wish there was. I wish the day might come when I could say everything I’ve ever wanted to say to you, in person. However, if it doesn’t, this letter is intended for you to know them anyway, even if only after I am dead.

The one fact I never publicly admitted in life, at least not until the moment I am writing this, is that I love you. I have loved you a very long time and I have known for a very long time that you, too, love me, despite your erroneous belief that you only love Zorro. 

I had thought about courting you on various occasions, most recently just before you accepted Juan Ortiz’s marriage proposal. Yet, for reasons I cannot share, even in this final letter to you, I have decided it was better for me to remain your friend, at least until the right time came for me to tell you what was in my heart. 

Seeing how I’m probably dead, though, at the time you read this, and, consequently, there is no future for us, I still want you to know that I truly hope that you might find your happiness, and a man who would love you at least as much as I have. I also hope that you might, one day, have the family you so desire, and the chance to grow old at your husband’s side, surrounded by children, grandchildren and, with some luck, great-grandchildren.

I part with you knowing that, just like my father, after my passing, you, too, might scold yourself for some of the things you have said to me over time. I will not say they didn’t hurt because I’d be lying. They hurt more because they were coming from the woman I loved and my dearest friend. But, believe me when I say that I part with you harboring no hard feelings, no resentment, no unforgiven words. 

I also part with you hoping you might, one day, forgive me for every way in which I have wronged you, for every untruthful word I ever said to you, and for every harm my deeds might have caused you.

Finally, I part with you certain that we will meet again, someday. Until then, I hope you’ll remain the same strong-willed, stubborn, compassionate and wonderful woman I fell in love with, the day I entered your tavern, after my return from Madrid.

I love you, Victoria, with all my heart. Now and always.

Yours, 

Diego.”

It took the taverness a few more days to leave her bed after reading Diego’s letter, but, slowly, she, too, returned to her routine, as her mind, having committed his words to memory, was insistently wondering in what way did he believe to have harmed her, when he had never been but the best of friends to her. She also wondered how come, at least from what she could read between his carefully-crafted lines, Diego hadn’t seem to consider Zorro as his rival for her affections, despite knowing of her feelings for the masked outlaw. 

Victoria found it impossible to understand the reason for those nagging questions at the back of her mind, but returning to her normal habits and routines gave her little time to be alone with her thoughts.

ZZZ

While the people he loved were mourning his passing, Diego was being kept in a tiny cell on El San Domingo, the ship due to take him and Ignacio de Soto to Las Penas. The former Alcalde of Los Angeles had not told much to the Captain when he had asked for his companion to be kept in a cell. He only claimed that the man was a dangerous criminal he was delivering to the Spanish King in person, and Diego uttered no word to contradict him. The young don thus spent the first part of the trip locked up under deck, forced to sleep on the hard floor, the ship’s cat his only company.

As per De Soto’s request, all the food and drink he was allowed to receive was one cup of water and few loafs of bread daily, just enough for him not to die of hunger or thirst. Ignacio also decided some psychological torture was in order and, for that reason, he visited daily, each time giving him a detailed account of what his destiny was to be, from being paraded in chains through the streets of Madrid to being hanged before the cheering crowd and the grateful Spanish monarchs. 

Diego, however, denied him the satisfaction of either complaining or showing any distress. Instead of focusing on his grim present and the future he knew to be even grimmer than De Soto was making it sound, he occupied his mind with thoughts of his loved ones, of his experiments, the books he had read, the grateful faces of the people he had helped, and with the memory of the night he had spent in Victoria’s arms. The defiant smile he wore every day when Ignacio came to visit, just annoyed the hell out of the older man.

The former Alcalde was, indeed, at a loss to understand his calm demeanor and his refusal to show any pain for all he was given to endure. Considering that the caballero, who had been pampered his entire life, was now lying on the floor of a dirty cell, many miles away from everyone and everything he loved, heading, quite certainly, towards his own execution, grief and desperation were what De Soto was expecting of him. 

Eventually, unable to stand his defiance any longer, Ignacio decided to teach Diego a lesson in humility by applying a serious whipping, using Zorro’s own lash. 

It was an early morning, two weeks into their voyage, when he put his plan into motion. With the help of two sailors the caballero was brought out on the main deck and tied up to a mast before De Soto started a cruel whipping, increasingly annoyed by his captive’s refusal to show any sign of pain. 

He only managed to deliver five lashes, however, before the Captain, storming out of his cabin at hearing the noise, stopped him and ordered for the prisoner to be returned to his cell. Adverse to any type of torture, the man also prohibited Ignacio any contact with his prisoner until arriving at their destination, thus making sure that the incident would not repeat itself.

ZZZ

About the same time Diego de la Vega and Ignacio de Soto were leaving California, another young man, called Dario, was leaving his hometown of Tarragona, situated on the Spanish Eastern coast, heading for Madrid. 

The man had spent much of his youth taking care of his mother, who had been run over by a coach, a decade earlier. The incident left her paralyzed from the waist down and, with no father or siblings in the picture, it fell to him to look after her. A third-year student at the time, set on becoming an architect, the accident derailed all of Dario’s plans for the future and made him realize that his true vocation was for medicine.

He had always been bright and was one of the best in his year, but, considering he had to seek employment and, at the same time, take care of the poor woman who had raised him, it took him over six more years to finish his studies. In all that time, having had to sell their house to pay for the medical treatment and for his studies, he and his mother had to share a small apartment in an old building of El Barri Gotic of Barcelona, since their limited resources barely allowed them to make rent on time.

While the woman, who was merely forty when she had been injured, had received a modest sum of money from her family, most of the inheritance her parents had left behind at their passing had gone to her older and only sister. Never having married, she had raised the boy as well as she possibly could, working hard to provide for him and making sure he received a good education. She had adored Dario since the first moment she took him into her arms, and he had suffered very much when, after ten years confined to a bed, she unexpectedly passed away. 

By that time, the young man already a doctor, they had moved back to Tarragona, and Dario was rapidly making a name for himself as the best doctor in town. His high intelligence and constant effort to keep up with every new discovery and invention in the field were a big part of the reason for his success. The other part was his kindness. People from all social classes came to him, since he never refused to treat anyone, even if that person could not afford his services. 

It was also his increasing local fame which put him in the path of the woman who was to become his wife, Vanesa. Her father had been his patient, seeking Dario’s aid when a severe grippe almost ended his life. During the four weeks of treatment it took for the rich don to get better, the young doctor found himself evermore drawn to his only daughter, a beautiful, headstrong and spirited young senorita with dark-brown hair and eyes of the same color. 

It was not, however, her exterior beauty that attracted Dario to the young woman, but her compassion, the same rare trait of character which she found attractive in him.  
Her father, though, opposed their romance and refused Dario’s polite request for permission to court his daughter. While grateful to the young man for having saved him, Gael Demetrio de Llosa had no intention of marrying his only child to a man who belonged to a lower social class. Certainly not when he had already arranged her marriage with Don Jose Cabrillo’s oldest son, who was about to become a widower, his wife already diagnosed with a deadly disease. The man was almost two decades her elder and already had four children but, with his father basically owning half of Barcelona, he was more than a very good catch in Don Gael’s opinion.

Ignorant of Don Gael’s plans and completely in love with the young doctor, Vanesa refused to give up on the future she was dreaming of having with him. That was how, despite the don’s prohibition for Dario to court her, the two continued to see each other, with the help of their friends. 

Since his mother, who had been a governess, had educated Dario to behave as a true caballero, he made sure his meetings with Vanesa always took place in the presence of other people, who acted as chaperones, in order not to compromise the woman he loved. In fact during the whole seven months he had courted the young senorita, Dario didn’t even dare do more than kiss her hand and, once, her forehead. He was considering asking for her hand in marriage a year after they had met, but fate decided to speed things along.  
One late evening, after having spent a terrible day failing to save a young mother from bleeding out after giving birth, Dario returned home to find his own mother dying. The poor woman seemed to have been merely waiting for him to arrive so that she could say her goodbyes. Her parting words were but whispers. Yet, those whispers managed to, eventually, change the young man’s life forever. 

Going through every single word she had uttered during those final moments in his mind, it was hard for him, at first, to understand the reason they mattered so much. They only started to make sense several weeks later when, finally gathering the strength to fulfill her last wish, Dario found and read a letter his mother had written for him, just after she had become an invalid.

That evening, as the older woman’s words sunk in, he decided to leave for Madrid. It was also the same evening when, having gone to bid farewell to his beloved, he found her crying her heart out after having been informed about her father’s plans for her future.

Desperate, in love, and only able to find consolation in each other’s arms, the two, thus, decided to elope and, an hour later they were married in a very private ceremony, by the same padre who had buried Dario’s mother about six weeks earlier.

After consummating their marriage rather hastily they also left the same way, early in the morning. 

Vanesa never returned home and did not say goodbye to her parents, certain her father would go as far as to challenge Dario to a duel for his actions, a duel her new husband was sure to lose. He might have been a master with the knife when it came to extracting bullets, but the young man had absolutely no ability or training to use any weapon in a fight. She was, however, still feeling safer at his side than she had ever felt in her father’s home, if for no other reason, even only because she had never before had anyone in her life willing to protect her with his own life, if it came down to it. 

With only a few hundred pesos, which constituted Dario’s remaining savings, they made their way towards Madrid. The young man had a cousin and an aunt there and, while he had not seen either of them in over two decades, they needed a place to go and he wanted answers. Those answers, though, if his mother’s letter was to be believed, only her older sister would be able to provide him.


	4. The storm ahead

After the incident where Ignacio had whipped him on the ship’s main deck, taking pity on Diego, the Captain had ordered his men to care for his injuries and to grant him better food and more water. While his wounds were not very deep and took little time to heal, barely leaving any scar, having been deprived of adequate food and water had left the caballero rather weak, his strength decreasing daily. 

Diego had always been a strong man. Even as a youngster, he was stronger than the other boys his age, even stronger than some of those older than him. As he matured and, especially, during the time spent in Spain, he had established for himself a daily routine aimed at maximizing his natural capacities and skills. 

As a prisoner, he did his best to maintain his routine, as much as the prison cell allowed him to do it, mainly out of habit, if for no other reason. He was, thus, still doing his several hundred squats and push-ups every day and he was still exercising his arms by using his strength to elevate his body towards the barred ceiling of the cell. Yet, with each day passing, he was becoming less balanced and was tiring easier. 

The change in his treatment helped, though, and he began feeling better, just in time for his strength and skills to come in hand, once again.

It was on the 18th day of the voyage when the storm hit. In the middle of the day and almost out of nowhere, the captain and the crew saw the sky darkening, as the wind intensified and the sea became agitated. Diego, sensing the danger ahead, was pacing his cell, hoping someone would be reasonable enough to let him out. He had been at sea before and was certain that he could help navigate the treacherous waters. More so, should the ship sink, he had no intention of dying in a prison. Such death would have achieved nothing in saving his loved ones, and his sacrifice would have been in vain.

The tempest had raged for at least two hours, the waves increasingly higher until, almost without warning, it seemed as if the ship plummeted into the abyss. The abrupt descent lasted just seconds before the fall was suddenly stopped at the same time as a wave came crashing over the main deck. The impact of the hit made the old frigate howl as water rushed through several newly-formed cracks in its wood. The Captain knew, at that point, that it had been only by a miracle that El San Domingo survived to rise back above the large waves but was, at the same time, quite uncertain that it might survive for much longer.

From his cell, Diego was watching, with concern, as the water was taking over increasing portions of the floor. The frightened cat was firmly planted on a wooden bar above his head, shaking her body to get rid of some of the water soaking her, as the place was slowly, but surely, filling up. Starting to fear that nobody even remembered he was there, the caballero was making the best use of his remaining strength and the wire which served as the bucket handle in an effort to open the lock, just as the Captain descended the stairs.   
“The ship is sinking,” he told him as he took out the key. “I will not let you die like this, but I doubt any of us will make it, to tell you the truth!” 

“Where’s Ignacio?” Diego asked.

“In his cabin, I believe. But, if you want revenge on him, I hardly think this is the time!”

“I do not want revenge. I need to do what I can to see him through this if that is even remotely possible!” he surprised the Captain by stating, as he hurriedly got out of the cell.

“Are you sure there’s nothing to be done to save the ship?”

“As you can see, we have water infiltrating into the hull. Four of my men fell overboard when the last wave hit so, now, I don’t have the manpower to both navigate and take care of the infiltration. Furthermore, we are sailing blindly towards the continent so that we might have a chance to reach the shore. Even if this storm doesn't end up destroying the vessel, once we near the coast, the rocks are certain to sink it.”

“Then get the passengers to help with the infiltration and change course! Crashing will not help us survive! Our only chance is saving the ship.” Diego uttered as they got to the main deck. “I know a thing or two about sailing. I can be useful to you and your crew if you allow me to help.”

The Captain, following his prisoner’s suggestion, sent two of his men to enlist the passengers’ help in temporarily fixing the damaged boards and get rid of the water rushing its way inside the ship, while he and the rest of the remaining crew, together with Diego, were steered the frigate, trying to change back course and keep it afloat.

“Hold on!” he shouted a few minutes later, as another wave was about to hit El San Domingo. 

The wave rose above them and caused the ship to lean dangerously to its starboard. For a few frightening moments, all those onboard believed it was going to turn over. When the foamy wave came splashing in, the people on the main deck found themselves, once again, violently thrown to the side. Having secured himself with a long rope, Diego was just in time to save one of the crew members and the man who had just released him, from being washed out to sea. With a considerable effort on his side, seeing how he was not yet fully recovered, he pulled both of them back on deck as soon as the ship re-found its balance. “Help me with the steering wheel!” the Captain demanded and Diego obeyed his command. Between the two of them, they managed to keep the frigate on a course that avoided further damage.

Twenty minutes later, the storm started losing its intensity and the sea slowly calmed down, the grey clouds dispersing to let the sun reclaim its rightful place in the sky. The men who had been washed away were never found, but the ship was saved, its cracks fixed as well as it was possible while still far away from any port, and those still on board were alive, despite the injuries many of them had sustained. 

While feeling completely exhausted, Diego took it upon himself to also act as the ship’s physician, using most of his remaining strength to stitch up and patch Ignacio’s and some of the sailors’ wounds, bandage the passengers who had broken their ribs, and repositioning the Captain’s dislocated shoulder. 

“What crime have you committed?” the man asked, even more intrigued by the prisoner on board his ship.

“None, as far as I’m concerned.” Diego answered as he was examining his arm. “Ignacio, however, has a different opinion.”

“He mentioned, during one of our dinners, that he had collected several thousand pesos as a reward for your capture. I do not like the man, but anyone with such a price on his head must have committed a deed worthy of it!” the Captain replied just before letting out a short scream of pain, as the younger man put his shoulder back in place.  
“I have committed many deeds.” Diego contented himself with answering. “I just don’t believe any of them were either wrong or of a criminal nature. I have never intentionally taken a life, and only lightly injured people who were fully deserving of my wrath, I assure you; my esteemed captor included.”

“I don’t understand, though. Why were you so determined to help him, if that is the case? Especially after his cruel behavior towards you.”

“Because, for once, he outsmarted me, and I have no choice other than to either play his game or risk the lives of the people who are dearest to me.” Diego answered, just as he was finishing placing the arm in a belt, before proceeding to instruct the captain that he needed to keep it immobile for about a week.

“What’s your name if I may ask?”

“Salvador. Salvador Gilarranz.” He replied, swaying on his feet as he got up. 

The Captain made a move to support him, realizing the man before him was barely able to stand, just as Ignacio decided Diego had been allowed to stay out for long enough.  
“Captain, if he is finished, I demand for Salvador to be returned to his cell!” the white-haired man ordered as he entered the large cabin in which they normally served their meals, and which, after the storm, had been temporarily converted into a medical office.

“No.” the Captain replied calmly. “This man saved us all today. I don’t know what crimes you accuse him of committing, but, as long as he remains on my ship, he will be treated with the respect he deserves!”

“He is a dangerous criminal and he needs to be locked in a cell!” Ignacio contradicted him.

“I don’t think you understand, senor! This is my ship and, here, it is I who give the orders.” The man simply replied.

“I am willing to return to the cell.” Diego assured him, feeling the need to settle their argument.

“I, however, am not willing to see you in it again. You will have a cabin, senor Gilarranz, and freedom onboard my ship. Senor De Soto can retake charge of you after we set anchor in Acapulco.” the Captain decided and, having his men help Diego to the cabins, he granted him the best one he had onboard.

From that day forward, Diego was also invited to attend the Captain’s dinners and, to De Soto’s frustration, received the same food as every other passenger. While, at first, the other people on board had reservations about the idea of having a prisoner dine with them, they soon found themselves fascinated with his class and manners, which betrayed his upbringing and social status. The way he steered the conversation, moving with ease from one topic to another, always careful not to insult anyone, also increased their regard for him. Even De Soto started to see his foe with different eyes as soon as he started getting a better glimpse at the real man, behind both of his masks. 

A few days after the storm, as Diego and the passengers were watching the sailors dueling with cutlasses to pass the time, one of them challenged him to a duel. He glanced at the captain who nodded, so he accepted the challenge, a smile on his face, glad to be able to improve his skills with the weapon. It took him some time to get the hang of it, since the cutlass was, in many ways different than a sword, requiring him to adjust his fighting style in order to be able to use it proficiently. When he finally did, however, he disarmed his challenger in seven thrusts, gaining vigorous applause from the audience.

De Soto did not like to see him with a weapon in his hand, especially knowing very well what he was capable of, yet, just like everyone else, crew and passengers alike, he couldn’t help but admire Diego’s skill with the blade. 

The rest of the trip was, thus, unexpectedly enjoyable for the caballero who, despite his status as De Soto’s captive, was well treated and respected. When they, eventually, arrived in the port of Acapulco, five weeks after having left Los Angeles, everyone took their goodbyes from Diego with heavy hearts, expressing their sincere hope that they might see him again one day. 

By that point, De Soto was beginning to understand why was it that all those people were so taken with his unmasked fox, despite the fact he was still more than a little resentful of him. 

ZZZ

Victoria saw Don Alejandro again when she visited him over a week after Diego’s funeral. He looked at peace with his loss and the taverness guessed it must have been because of the letter he had also received from his son. Smiling sadly at him and receiving a similarly sad smile in return, she went to the old don and embraced him.

“I loved him very much!” she confessed with tears in her eyes. 

“My son also loved you, my dear. He wanted you to be his wife. I wish I had known. Perhaps you would have been married by now if I would have encouraged him. How different things would have been…”

"He was the only one who knew. I was foolish enough to never realize how much I cared about him. I had convinced myself that I could only love Zorro and now I lost them both, Don Alejandro! In two days I lost both the men I loved.”

Don Alejandro had, of course, heard the unsettling news about Zorro, although, only days after the masked outlaw’s capture, when he was well enough to leave his room. Like other Los Angelinos, he had also organized search parties to go look for both Zorro and De Soto, yet none of the search parties had any luck. 

When a week passed and neither one of the two men returned, speculations as to their fate started to abound. Some said Zorro must have regained consciousness and had used his skills to either escape or kill the Alcalde. Others were convinced they were both dead, imagining that they had, probably, both ended their lives falling down a canyon or into a ravine during a struggle. A third category was, however, convinced that De Soto was either torturing Zorro or had already killed him.

Those rumors only stopped when Sanchez returned from Monterey with news of his meeting with De Soto in the port of San Pedro and the man's departure for Madrid, as well as information about a new official, named by the Governor, due to arrive shortly. 

This news, however, only deepened the mystery about Zorro's fate considering that, from what the lancer knew, the Alcalde had already informed the Governor about his intention to return to Spain during his last visit to Monterey, weeks before his departure. 

All thoughts and questions faded away, however, when Capital Javier Montalvo was sent to take over as the post vacated by De Soto. 

The man arrived by official coach and, from the start, captured the attention of the eligible young women of the pueblo. He was about as tall as his predecessor, and had a similar beard and moustache, but black. Much younger than the white-haired man who had ruled the pueblo before him, Montalvo was at least as ambitious as him and just as cruel as Luis Ramone, a fact the Los Angelinos would, however, only find out months after he took over the office.

The new Alcalde’s first order of business was to find out everything he could about every single citizen of Los Angeles. Making people believe he was an improvement on both his predecessors by means of well-wielded words and kind smiles, he did his best to gain everyone’s trust and find out all the gossip in the pueblo. The same information, he then used to lay out his traps, turn people against each other and slowly erode the respect the haciendados enjoyed as leaders of the community.

He also briefly considered courting Victoria, after he was informed that she was the sole owner of the local tavern, but abandoned the idea when he found out about her former romance with the outlaw Zorro. He also reasoned that the beautiful woman was not rich enough for him to marry her and she would make a better lover than a wife. Thus, after a very brief attempt at courtship, he turned his attention towards the daughters of the richest caballeros of the pueblo.

While hoping the new Alcalde was, indeed, better than the ones who had preceded him, Don Alejandro and Felipe, as well as Victoria herself, found it hard to trust him. As each of them realized, with some concern, that the man was milking everyone for information, what they found most disconcerting about him was his friendly behavior, which, to all three of them, seemed faked. 

Decided to get Los Angeles under his full control, the new Alcalde also took the time to better train his lancers. Furthermore, he gained their loyalty by making sure to divide amongst them all the bounties on the bandits they captured, a thing De Soto never did. While Montalvo did not care about his men, the poor lancers, finding themselves treated better than ever before, were eager to follow the orders of their new commander, trusting he was a man deserving to be obeyed. 

ZZZ

When Dario and Vanesa reached the Capital, they wandered the streets for several hours before finding a modest room they could rent for a short while. Neither one of the two had any plan for their future, nor any clear idea as to what they were to do in a large city they did not know and in which they had no connections. None except Dario’s aunt and cousin, that is, but he had no idea where to find them. 

It took the couple three weeks to get news about the two persons they were looking for and, when they did, it was purely by accident. 

Having come to the conclusion that he needed to check the records of the University of Madrid and of the Military Academy, Dario went to visit the two institutions one morning and, while his request to access the files was denied in each of the two cases, as he was exiting the latter, he overheard two instructors mentioning his cousin’s name.

“Any luck?” his wife asked him when he returned home that day, but rapidly regretted her question at seeing the sadness in his beautiful eyes. “Don’t worry, my love. Perhaps tomorrow…”

“They’re dead!” he replied gloomily. “Both of them, just a few weeks apart.”

“Oh, Dario… I’m so sorry!” she told him, putting her arms around him in an effort to shield him from the hopelessness she knew he was feeling. “How did they die?”

“My aunt drowned. My cousin…apparently he died in some mysterious circumstances…the men I talked to weren’t able to tell me much. What does it matter, anyway? I will never know the truth now…” he replied disheartened.

They stayed up till late that evening, discussing what to do, now that there was no longer even the slightest chance for Dario to find the answers he was looking for. They could not return to Tarragona, to his practice, and to her family, since that would have put them both in danger of retribution from Vanesa’s father. Barcelona was just as bad an option, even though Dario had some friends there who could help them get on their feet. Just a couple days away from Tarragona and partly owned by the man whose son was supposed to marry Don Gael’s daughter, going there would have only brought them misery.

Madrid, however, while they were slowly adapting to it, was expensive and much too far from the sea they both loved. It was also too big and dirty but, on the other hand, it offered them the chance for a new start and the anonymity which came with living in a capital. 

A doctor’s services were always needed, especially in a large city, and Vanesa was a good seamstress, even though she had never considered her talent as a possible source of income before. 

They had, thus, already decided to remain in Madrid when, a few days later, a man came looking for Dario, to inform him about the inheritance he was due to receive after his relatives' passing. The young man’s first instinct had been to refuse it, now that he knew the truth, but his wife pointed out that he needed to accept. The reason she gave him, besides the fact that there was nobody else to succeed them, was the fact that the inheritance, which included an apartment Dario’s aunt had inhabited, might have contained clues leading to the answers he so longed for.

Agreeing with his wife, the doctor thus agreed to accept the succession, and, within a few days, the two moved into the small, alas rather elegant apartment which was, at that point, his. At seeing the place, the young doctor felt it was somehow familiar to him, which, he realized, was only logical considering his mother’s confession. Vanesa, however, instinctively hated the place. So, set on convincing her husband to sell it as soon as possible, she spent the entire week after moving in doing nothing but search every inch of it. 

By the end of the seven days she had explored every piece of furniture, each picture, and even the loose floorboards, the young woman had discovered a rather intriguing assortment of things. Firstly, there were the old hand-drawn portraits of a man, either made by or depicting a person called Antonio Cordoba, Then there were the love letters signed with the same name, dated from March 1785 to October 1787, the last one mentioning how, because of the outlandish accusations of a certain Commander Alejandro de la Vega, Antonio, who was a soldier at the time, had had to become a fugitive, never again to return home to the woman he loved. 

Vanesa sighed at reading it, saddened at the thought of a couple in love being separated by an evil man, a situation she, herself, could empathize with. 

Besides the drawings and the letters, she had also found some jewels, about two thousand pesos and several fencing prizes and medals which had belonged to the man Dario had always believed to be his cousin. 

Keeping the portraits and the letters, the two sold the jewelry and the apartment. After a few more weeks spent in rented accommodation, they bought themselves a new apartment, in one of Madrid's oldest neighborhoods. Around the same time, Dario met Commander Alberti.


	5. Of children and men

After buying a pair of good horses, Diego and Ignacio headed towards Mexico City. The trip to the Capital was not uneventful, but the few misguided bandits who crossed their way were easily defeated by the two of them, especially considering that, after the first incident, the former Alcalde of Los Angeles had returned Diego's weapons back to him. It was during those weeks when De Soto noticed, with some surprise, that they were making a rather good team as, after a couple of confrontations, he knew his captive's role was to face their foes head-on, while his was to have his back. The tone and topics of their conversations also seemed to evolve during the long way across New Spain, as they were settling down into some sort of routine, each, albeit unwillingly, learning more and more about the other's customs, likes and dislikes.

With a lot of luck and rather well-maintained roads, they arrived in Mexico City about ten days before the date set by De Soto for the letter to be delivered. This gave them plenty of time to stop it and Diego was, again, given the opportunity to destroy the letter himself, thus also proving, once again, that the threat was real.

A couple of days later, after giving the horses some needed time to rest, they continued their journey toward Veracruz, from where they were to embark for Spain.

The second part of the journey was, however, more difficult and longer than the first, the two of them having to take several detours after learning of battles being fought in areas close to the roads they were intended on traveling.

While neither of them was willing to get involved with the fights, which had, at that point, gone on for over a decade, that decision crumbled one evening.

With the sun setting on that day, they were just intending on finding accommodations in a village when, from up a nearby hill, they saw the Viceroy's soldiers causing panic among inhabitants of the small aldea and injuring those who were resisting. Cautious not to be noticed, they dismounted and tried to find out what was going on. The lancers were dividing the local population into two groups, one much smaller than the other. Without much regard to age or gender, they forced about 15 people, or a fifth of the total village inhabitants, into the smaller group.

After dividing them like that, the commander announced that everyone in the smaller group would be executed, as punishment for the village's support of the rebel forces. As people from both groups panicked, parents trying to intervene to save their children, spouses and brothers trying to help each other, the soldiers started shooting, injuring several people, and the commander threatened that more will die, should they not calm down. It was then that Diego decided he needed to help them.

Ignacio's first instinct was to stop him, but he decided against doing that, considering that children were also among those sentenced to death, a prospect which reminded the white-haired man a little too much of the horrors he had witnessed during the French invasion of Spain.

Taking advantage of the few minutes of calm before the executions were due to begin, Diego changed into his Zorro clothes, stole a horse from the public corral, and, armed with his sword and his whip, stormed just in time to prevent the execution. Already a legend throughout New Spain, his sudden materialization in their midst gave the people the hope and the courage to restart their fight and overpower the lancers.

During the ensuing battle, De Soto, who was watching from behind a nearby tree, had no choice but to shoot at a soldier who was aiming at his masked prisoner. He did not aim to kill and just caused the man a minor injury to his hand, but still hated having to do it, especially since he had, at that moment, felt like a traitor, shooting at his own side.

Zorro, realizing who had helped him, gave him a grateful salute, to which De Soto answered in a similar manner, then chided himself for doing it.

When the soldiers were all disarmed and the grateful villagers had tied them up, the masked man asked for their lives to be spared, then made his way out of the pueblo. An hour later, he returned on a different horse, without the mask and accompanied by Ignacio, to ask and be granted a place to stay for the night.

The following day, just after the two left, rebel commander Arturo Torrente Cela, a man who had been born and raised in that village arrived at the place he still called home, accompanied by his armed forces. His men took charge of the prisoners, while he carefully listened to the people's story about the miraculous way in which they had been saved by the Californian Legend. Cela knew, at that point, that God was on their side since, not only had the Viceroy's forces been significantly reduced during the latest battles, but He had also sent the masked man just in time to help his people. Furthermore, the commander of the lancers they had captured was the eldest son of Manuel de la Concha, the Colonel whose forces were defending the Capital. A smile crept on his face as he became certain that victory was near.

ZZZ

About eighty miles further, as they were closing in on the port, Diego and Ignacio heard the shots and the desperate screams of a woman. As the former instinctively steered his stallion in the direction from where they heard the cries, the latter had no choice but to follow his prisoner.

They found the source of the cries a few minutes later, when they noticed that a stagecoach had been attacked by four bandits. One of the passengers and the driver had been shot dead. A second passenger seemed to be severely wounded and unconscious. As for the woman they had heard screaming, she was a young mother, desperately trying to protect herself and the baby in her arms, as two of the bandits were preparing to dishonor her.

With but one glance between them, each of the two unusual traveling companions headed in a different direction. Diego took out his whip and charged, rapidly disarming two of the men, who had been going through the possessions of the stagecoach's occupants but had turned at hearing the two strangers, pointing their pistols towards them. After punching them senseless, he looked over to Ignacio who, having drawn his gun, indicated to the wannabe rapists that he would shoot unless they got off the poor woman.

Since Diego had already taken care of their cohorts and their pistols were not at hand, the two raised their hands and got up to stand. With a gesture of his gun-holding hand, Ignacio indicated that they take a few steps to their left, away from the woman, just as she got up, accidentally put herself between him and her attackers. The two men, seizing their moment, took out their guns to shoot. It was, thus, up to Diego to save De Soto this time, and he moved so fast that the thugs didn't even see him coming. With a smooth thrust of his sword, he disarmed them both at once, then proceeded to use his whip to temporarily bind them together and prevent any further resistance.

After they tied up the bandits, the tall caballero helped the wounded man and confirmed that the other two were, indeed, deceased. Putting the dead bodies inside the stagecoach and mounting the bandits on their own horses, the odd pair of former enemies then helped the survivors get on the drivers' seat and escorted them all to the nearest pueblo.

"You can't help yourself, can you?" De Soto asked later, as they were continuing their journey to the port. "You have to play hero!"

"Helping people in need in not playing hero, Ignacio!" Diego replied. "It's the normal thing anyone should do! I can't believe you didn't feel some sense of duty to that woman you've just saved."

"I am a soldier." His companion replied. "You, however, I will never understand. All those years spent to defend the Los Angelinos, risking everything when you could have just been the man you pretended to be. And, for what? What was your gain? Why would someone like you be willing to sacrifice his own life for people who are so… irrelevant…?"

"No one is irrelevant, Ignacio!" The caballero answered. "Everybody is important. The unjust sufferance of one man doesn't only affect him but all those he loves and who love him, as well as many others. If you condemn the blacksmith to twenty lashes for not paying his taxes on time, the man will take days to recover and return to work. That wasted time will impact his family, which might go hungry with him unable to work; and his friends, who will have to sacrifice some of their food and money to help him. It will impact the doctor who would need to take the time to care for his wounds, and the person who needs the doctor urgently exactly as he is away, carrying for the blacksmith. Furthermore, it will impact all those in need of his services and their respective labors. In the end, it will also come back to the person who had passed the sentence and whose coffers will, again, lack funds when the man will be unable to make the next payment. It is absurdly short-sighted of you to think that there are people in this world who do not matter. Every life does, Ignacio, and every one of us impacts many others, directly and indirectly, positively or negatively. I just wish you could finally understand that!" Diego replied with unhidden frustration. "And it was never about gaining something. It was, and still is about doing the right thing."

"It's that why you saved me, then? When the Emissary tried to execute me… you believed you were doing the right thing?"

"You were never one of my favorite people, Ignacio. But I was not about to let you be unjustly executed." Diego replied.

ZZZ

About two months after Diego's death and Zorro's capture, Victoria's stomach decided to refuse most of the food she was eating. She was already eating little, still grieving for the two men she had lost, and she worked herself to exhaustion when she started getting sudden attacks of nausea, mainly, but not exclusively, in the morning. One day, during a busy lunch at the tavern, her body gave out and she just collapsed in the middle of the taproom.

When Doctor Hernandez was called, she was already regaining her senses and refused to be examined but, eventually, agreed at Don Alejandro's insistence. After the doctor arrived, the haciendado, who was being increasingly attentive to Victoria, as per his son's wishes, waited patiently, together with his grandson, for Hernandez to finish.

Having listened to Pilar, who complained about Victoria's diet, and noticing, himself, that she had lost a lot of weight, Doctor Hernandez decided it was nothing more than the effect of grief, hurriedly sending her helper to fix her a large plate of food, just as the De la Vegas were allowed inside the room.

"It's that why I get sick in the morning?" she asked the doctor as soon as he presented his conclusion. "It's because I don't eat enough?"

"You get sick in the morning?" he questioned.

She nodded "Yes. I also get sick when I smell some foods or drinks. I'm trying to eat, but I just cannot retain food. Perhaps my body decided this life is no longer worth living…" Victoria stated and the doctor frowned.

"Victoria… I know you are an honorable woman and I apologize for asking you this… but did you and Zorro… ever spent the night together?" he asked after a few moments considering her symptoms.

The taverness looked a little embarrassed and doubted whether to answer, which was an answer in itself.

"When did you last have your monthly bleeding?" the doctor asked a bit more certain of his new diagnostic.

"I… I don't know… It's never been very regular… Are you… Are you thinking I might be… pregnant?" she asked, fearfully glancing between the doctor and Don Alejandro.

"It would explain all your symptoms." Doctor Hernandez stated. "Is it possible that you are?"

The young woman, unsure at first, just nodded. Stuck in her grief, Victoria had not considered the consequences of that night of passion she had spent in Zorro's arms. She didn't even know how to react at the idea that she was carrying his child; a bastard child who, along with her, would never even know his or her father's true name.

"We were engaged." She felt the need to excuse her actions, but there was no need since she could only see compassion in the doctor's eyes.

The good man left after prescribing a diet that might help her regain the weight she had lost so that she might keep the pregnancy. He knew she would have to deal with some maliciousness for being a single woman, mother of an outlaw's child. But, he felt that she might need to keep her baby, the one link she still had with the man she had waited to be with, for so many years. The doctor was also hoping that most people might be kind to her and the baby, considering everything Zorro had done for the pueblo.

"Please don't judge me!" she asked Don Alejandro, as soon as the doctor left.

"I'm not judging you, Victoria! I know how much you have always wanted children, and I know you always imagined Zorro was to be their father." The old don answered sadly.

"It happened the day Diego died." she confessed. "I…I was suffering and I just wanted for the pain to stop. Even if just for a few moments… We were only together that one night and the next day he was captured. Perhaps it was God's wrath, Don Alejandro; His way of punishing the both of us for having sinned."

"You can't think like that, Victoria! What happened had nothing to do with God. Zorro's capture was not His work, but the work of that evil man we had for Alcalde. If anything, it was God who gave you this child."

"If he's a boy, do you think he might look like his father? Perhaps, that way, when he'll grow up, I might know who he was."

"Perhaps." Don Alejandro confirmed. "Victoria… we need to think of something. I believe you need to marry as soon as possible. If anyone finds out you are pregnant with Zorro's child, they might consider you his accomplice, and you might hang!"

"You think that might happen? That I might not get to see my child be born?"

"I do fear that, my dear. We need to come up with a plan. Nobody can know who the father is!"

"Wha… what can I do? Please, Don Alejandro! Please, help me!"

"Well… as I said, you need to get married… "

"No!" she protested with tears forming in her eyes. "Anything but that! I… I will not make another man believe he is the father of my child. In fact… I have no intention of marrying at all, not after losing both the men I loved! And, who knows, Don Alejandro? Perhaps Zorro will return to me one day... As long as we don't know what happened to him, there is still hope, isn't there?"

Felipe, who was listening in to their conversation, decided he had the perfect plan.

*Tell everyone it is Diego's!* He signaled.

Don Alejandro had some trouble understanding, so he had to repeat a few times until it dawned on him what his grandson was saying.

"Say it's Diego's child?" he asked. Felipe nodded and kept gesturing. "You want us to say Diego had proposed to Victoria and spent the night with her, but died before announcing the engagement?"

Felipe again nodded, satisfied he had been understood.

"Nobody would believe that, Felipe!" Don Alejandro told him.

The young man insisted, signing *Letters* and also pointing to Victoria.

"You think his confessions in the letters he had left for us and Victoria's reaction to his death might convince people?"

Again, his grandson nodded and continued to sign.

"I could legally adopt the child after his or her birth." Don Alejandro interpreted. "But, Felipe, you understand what that means for you? If I adopt Victoria's child, you will no longer be my only heir. I'll have to draw up a new will sharing the estate among the two of you, so that nobody would ever have any doubt about the child's paternity." Don Alejandro considered. "Not to mention that it would mean staining my son's good name."

Felipe signaled that it was what Diego would have wanted and that if he was there he would tell them not to hesitate.

Don Alejandro nodded, feeling proud of the young man for not putting his material interests above the chance to help Victoria and her baby. "What do you think, Victoria? I have always considered you the daughter I never had. I would assume responsibility for the child. We already have Diego's letters confessing to loving you and they were written a few months before his death. It might be believable that he eventually acted on his feelings and proposed. People have seen how much you suffered when my son…when my son's body was brought to town. All you need is an engagement ring, and no one will ever doubt our story."

"You would do that? Accept my child as your grandchild?" She asked both thankful and incredulous.

"Felipe is right, Victoria. I am convinced that, if Diego had been alive, he wouldn't have hesitated to marry you, even knowing you were carrying another man's baby! As for me, I already have an adopted grandson and have enough money to leave them both very rich. Your child will never want for anything, and he will have the De la Vega name. Zorro saved my life more than once. He might have failed to save my son, but I am still indebted to the man, just like everyone else in this pueblo. Let me repay some of that debt by being there for you and his child!"

Victoria thought about it and, when she silently agreed, Don Alejandro sent Felipe to get a ring from among the ones which had belonged to his wife. The young man chose a diamond ring which he had seen depicted in one of Elena de la Vega's portraits, hanging in Don Alejandro's quarters. Bringing back the ring, he gave it to Victoria, and, soon enough, the entire pueblo found out that Diego and the young woman had been secretly engaged for a few days before his tragic death.

To confirm that idea, both the old don and the taverness made sure to be a little negligent with the letters Diego had left for them. In turn, those who 'accidentally' read them made sure to share some of their content, especially the parts which mentioned the young don's love for his friend. Soon speculations also started to abound about Zorro's defeat having been a result of Victoria's decision to leave him, and Diego's death the result of the masked outlaw's resolution not to save his contender for the taverness' heart.

Thus, when her pregnancy was confirmed about a month later, everybody easily believed that the child was a De la Vega. That fact was also admitted by Felipe, who told everyone who could interpret his signs that his father had confessed to him that he had spent a night with his fiancée.

This was how Victoria Escalante moved to the hacienda in her fourth month of pregnancy, Don Alejandro insisting she get his son's quarters, so that the servants might be convinced it was, indeed, Diego's baby she was carrying.

Felipe still hoped that his father might one day return to confirm that Victoria's child was, indeed, his, but, until that day came, he found some comfort in the knowledge that he was fulfilling his wishes, and his child would be well taken care of.


	6. Trick or fight

Arriving in Veracruz with no more incidents, Diego and Ignacio sold their horses and boarded the Nova España, bound for Cadiz, Spain.

Besides the two of them, there were just three other passengers on board - a fifty-yea-old man and his two daughters - as the vessel was mainly carrying the correspondence between the two continents.

The voyage was to take a little over a month and, this time, De Soto had made no attempt to have Diego locked up, even allowing him to keep his sword (which he intended, nevertheless, to get back in Madrid, in order to keep it as a souvenir).

"Are you two brothers?" Ana-Maria, one of the two young ladies traveling with them, asked the evening after their departure, while watching Diego handing Ignacio a platter containing various types of meats, as he helped himself to the cheeses. The older man returned the favor by handing over to him the breadbasket and the butter, without a word exchanged between them.

"Brothers?" De Soto asked in amusement. "What in the world would make you believe we are in any way related?"

"It is because you seem to know each other pretty well." She answered, puzzled. "I'm sorry if I offended you in some way…"

The two men stared at each other inquisitively.

"Cousins, perhaps?" Ana-Maria's sister, Maria-Cristina, insisted. "People who aren't family don't normally know each other's preferences and customs. You're not…lovers, are you?" she proceeded in asking, baffling the two men, who temporarily lost their ability to speak due to the shocking implications of her question, and provoking a good scolding from her father, who did not appreciate her rudeness.

"Of course, not!" Diego answered as he was the first to regain his voice. "We are actually enemies but, after spending almost three months together already, we have, perhaps, learned a few things about each other." He clarified for the now increasingly-puzzled sisters, their father and Captain Sotomayor, who was their host.

"Excuse me for asking, then," the father of the senoritas uttered, "but if you consider yourselves enemies, why are you traveling together?"

"We are not." Diego replied. "I am Ignacio's prisoner, and he is escorting me to Spain. So we are traveling together the same way a hunter is traveling with a fox to the taxidermist."

"Don't be so melodramatic Di…Salvador!" De Soto dismissed the implications of that assertion, as he had already convinced himself, during their voyage, that Diego would probably only get a minor punishment or the King might even offer him a pardon. He had even decided to speak in his favor, confident that Ferdinand the VIIth would listen to him.

Among the people present at the table, though, their replies just caused further confusion. "If you are a prisoner, senor, then, why are you staying in one of my cabins, instead of one of my cells?" The captain asked Diego.

"I tried to arrange that on the ship from California. However, the captain refused to hold him in his cell any longer after my prisoner here helped him prevent a shipwreck." De Soto tried to clarify, yet deepening further the confusion. "Besides, he makes a terrible prisoner. He is too well-behaved. Imagine that he was even willing to return to his cell after the captain had offered him one of the cabins!"

"So…you paid for his ticket because he was too good a prisoner?" Captain Sotomayor inquired.

"Pay? I'm not paying for him! He's rich, he can afford the passage!" De Soto replied.

"You are an odd pair, aren't you?" Ana-Maria stated, and everyone smiled.

"I suppose we are…" Diego conceded with a genuine smile. "We've certainly gotten to know each other better than either of us ever thought we would…or wanted, for that matter."

The first days of the voyage were calm and life on board was quite pleasant. Only thoughts of his loved ones and concern for their safety caused Diego to dive into melancholy from time to time.

Ten days into their journey, while the caballero was strolling on the deck with the two senoritas, both of them completely taken by him, the sailor positioned on the crow's nest gave the alarm.

"Captain!" He shouted. "There's a ship, some eight miles at our starboard! It's moving fast in our direction!"

"Can you see its flag?" Captain Sotomayor asked him.

"It's black, Captain!" The man replied.

"Pirates!" Diego noted. "You two need to hide!" He stated, addressing the young ladies. "If they board us, they will first check the cabins, and they don't treat women kindly." Getting an idea on how to help them hide, he asked the sisters to go to their father, assuring them that he would soon join them.

As the Captain was busy giving orders to his men to change direction in the hope they might outrun the enemy vessel, Diego hurried to his room, then raided Ignacio's, taking some of the baffled older man's clothes. A few minutes later, he was knocking on the young ladies' father's cabin door. When the man opened, he let himself inside, first giving them the clothes and asking the two to put them on. After waiting for a rather long time outside the room to give them the chance to get changed, he proceeded in gluing black beards and mustaches to their faces, while also putting black-haired wigs on their heads. By the time he finished arranging everything, even their own father could have sworn that he had boys rather than girls.

That job done, he returned to his room to arm himself, and headed for the quarterdeck, just as the captain unwilling to risk his men's lives and hoping money was all the pirates wanted, had decided to surrender the ship. Hearing the order to check the cabins, Diego hid himself, waiting for his moment to attack.

All the passengers, except for him and De Soto, as well as the crew, had been taken out on the deck, the pirates fooled by the senoritas' appearance. However, the men who had boarded the ship had no intention to be merciful and decided that they deserved to have some fun at their captives' expense. Their captain thus ordered for two of the sailors to fight each other for their entertainment.

About five minutes into the fight, one of the pirates dragged Ignacio to the deck, stating that he had tried to hide but had been found in the storage room. At that point, the white-haired man let the pride get the best of him and informed them that it was the former Alcalde of Los Angeles they had in their grasp and they'd better behave themselves, or they would feel the full wrath of the King of Spain.

It was all the pirate captain needed to hear in order to have De Soto walk the plank.

Diego cursed Ignacio's stupid pride and was concocting his battle plan, fully intent on preventing De Soto's execution, when he heard the attackers call for their captain. Recognizing the name, a grin crept its way across his face.

"I would have thought you had learned your lesson, Stark!" He uttered as he stepped onto the deck, dressed as Zorro minus the mask and the cape, with a smug look on his face, his sword resting on his right shoulder, the whip in his left hand.

"I remember you! The brave caballero from Los Angeles..." Stark noticed with some amusement, which faded away as soon as Diego used his whip to disarm two of his men, and the pirate captain recognized the sword, and the man dressed in black wielding it. "You're Zorro!" he then uttered in disbelief.

"And you, senor, are about to become fish food!" Diego replied as he continued to disarm the pirates, making his way towards their captain.

Stark swallowed hard and wide-opened his eyes, suddenly filled with fear. "Back to the ship, men!" he commanded, completely ignoring Ignacio and anyone else on board. "This is not worth dying for!" He decided as his men were already climbing down the ropes they had anchored to the Nova España.

Diego patiently waited for them to be half-way through, then cut the ropes, causing most of the pirates to fall into the ocean.

"Have a good bath, senores!" He wished them, as he saluted in his Zorro-like manner, turning towards his baffled audience on board the ship.

"They ran away just at seeing you?" Sotomayor wondered. "Their captain…he said you were Zorro?"

"We are old…acquaintances." Diego clarified. "I believe we'd better be on our way, before Stark recovers his courage and decides to board us again." He went on to suggest.

The Captain nodded and absentmindedly ordered his men to return to their posts.

That night, as things calmed down and the passengers were sleeping, De Soto found himself suddenly gagged and lifted up by the crewmen, who carried him on the main deck and, tying up his hands, threw him into the ocean. It was Diego who heard the splash through his cabin's window and, realizing a man had fallen off the ship, he raised the alarm and hurried to jump in and save him, while the captain ordered the ship to be stopped and a boat to be lowered in order to collect the two men.

"What happened?" the Captain asked De Soto after Diego managed to bring him back onboard the ship, both of them wrapped in blankets, still freezing.

The former Alcalde spat out a few mouthfuls of water, trying to clear his lungs. "Your men tried to kill me!" he stated.

"My men? What is the meaning of this?" Sotomayor asked his crew.

"He's trying to harm the man who saved us." One of them simply stated. "We decided to do something about it!"

"You what?" Diego and the Captain both asked at the same time.

"If you are Zorro, senor, and he is taking you to Spain to face justice, as we heard him say, we doubt the King will let you live! We believe, though, that it would be far better if it was you the one to survive, rather than him!"

"Of all the stupid things…"Diego exclaimed in frustration. "Don't you think I would have killed him myself, if that was an option?" He asked them.

"You don't kill!" De Soto pointed out, and Diego frowned at him and went on.

"I am going with him because, if I don't, the King will know my true name and all those I love will be in mortal danger. Ignacio made sure to send a message to the Crown accusing them all of being my accomplices, and he's the only one who can stop it from being delivered. That is why I need him very much alive. Considering how irrational Ferdinand is said to have become, he might even take action against my relatives living in Spain, and they had nothing to do with what I did in California. I'd rather die than let any harm come to those close to me as a consequence of my decisions! Besides, I gave this man my word not to go back on our deal!" Diego explained.

"We…we didn't know, Senor Gilarranz. We're sorry…We thought we were helping you." one of the crewmen stated.

"I do appreciate the sentiment" Diego replied, an understanding smile on his face, "but murder is never the answer."

"I am a passenger on this ship!" De Soto stated, addressing the Captain. "I want the men responsible for the attempt against me punished."

"You'll go through with this? You'd condemn a man who has saved your life?" the Captain asked De Soto, ignoring his request.

"He's an outlaw!" the man defended himself. "If I don't present him to the King as I promised, especially since I left my post to deliver him, I will be booted out of the military and lose everything."

The Captain looked at him with disgust as he uttered those words.

"I'll take care of my men. This incident will never repeat itself, you have my word." Sotomayor stated. "But I hope God will make you see reason, Senor de Soto, before it is too late and you will no longer be able to right the wrong you seem determined to do. ¡Buenas noches, senores!"

The Captain gave De Soto the cold shoulder all throughout the rest of the voyage, unable to understand the man's actions and reasons, still marveling at Diego's determination to treat him with kindness and even friendliness. The sisters and their father bluntly refused to take their meals in his company and the crewmen refused to talk to him, so Ignacio found himself isolated, with only Diego for company.

He politely took his goodbyes from his traveling companions when they arrived in Cadiz, yet nobody bothered to answer back, except for the captain who said a polite "¡Adios!" in return, after warmly embracing Diego, from whom he parted as from an old friend.

ZZZ

Montalvo's rule deteriorated rather slowly. The man was astute enough to make sure not to let his true colors show too soon and, at least during the first few months of his rule, every bad deed he was doing was perfectly targeted to harm just one or two people. Furthermore, an associated good action always benefited twice as many as the bad deed hurt.

That was how the Los Angelinos closed their eyes when farmers started losing their lands to the greedy hands of the new Alcalde, being, thus, driven to leave the pueblo or seek employment with the haciendados; or when the new small road taxes, aimed to increase his own wealth were introduced. When he started punishing with five lashes all those who couldn't pay their taxes on time, some even considered those to be fair punishments, never realizing that, by punishing the poor people, the Alcalde was also stopping them from working the land and, thus, made sure that, soon enough they would lose it due to unpaid taxes.

Since the official also made sure to make some improvements to the pueblo, spent much of the collected taxes on public fiestas and sent the lancers to catch the bandits plaguing the territory, not many ever spoke against his dishonest actions. In fact, not many even saw through him, except for the three people who Diego loved most.

"We need to do something!" Don Alejandro mumbled to himself as he was pacing in the library, Felipe carefully looking at him and the five-months-pregnant Victoria preoccupied with learning how to crochet.

"But what can we do, Don Alejandro? Since Zorro was captured nobody dares to stand up. And Montalvo is smart. Many of the people are on his side." she answered.

"That's only because they are short-sighted, unable to see him for what he truly is!" the old don replied. "I will host a meeting of the caballeros to discuss this new Alcalde of ours. If we don't do something soon, he will evolve to become some sort of Junior Ramon and there is no more Zorro to stop him this time!"

Felipe was listening quite carefully. His grandfather was right in that someone needed to do something, but he was also afraid that any action the old don would take might turn against him. After all, it was exactly for that reason his father had put on the mask in the first place.

*We need to think like Zorro.* he signaled when Don Alejandro glanced at him. *He put on a mask so that nobody would know who he was thus the Alcalde would be unable to do anything against him and his family. We need to act the same way, if we are to succeed!*

Don Alejandro stared at him after interpreting the signs, and Victoria did the same. "Do you have a plan, Felipe?"

*Sabotage* he signaled. *We need to sabotage him. Find out his plans and come up with solutions to stop him, without Montalvo finding out it was us who did it.*

"And how exactly do you propose we do that?" his grandfather asked, intrigued by the suggestion.

*There are signs. Before he takes action against someone, he asks around about that person. If he is interested in someone, he has a plan for him.* the young man answered.

"I could keep my ears open in the tavern. We could even enlist Mendoza's help." Victoria suggested, agreeing with the young don's plan. "I could bribe him with some tamales!"

*Grandfather should just have lunch with him from time to time. Father was his friend and used to have lunch with him a few times a week. Mendoza always told him all sorts of things, even without being asked.* Felipe suggested, hoping they will not realize his father was having lunch with the Sergeant exactly in order to milk him for information.

"You think he might give information without even knowing he was doing it?" Don Alejandro eyed him suspiciously.

Felipe just nodded, looking away.

"Felipe is right!" Victoria confirmed. "If Mendoza knows something, he might give it away. All we'll need to do then is come up with a plan to stop him."

A day later, Don Alejandro and Felipe accompanied Victoria to the pueblo with the express purpose of inviting Mendoza to lunch.

"Did he say anything?" she asked after the Sergeant left the table.

"He said the Alcalde is sending the men to investigate an old abandoned mine near the former Lorca farmhouse, this afternoon. I wonder why he would do that. From what I remember about it, they barely kept it open a few years. The place was too dangerous, surely he knows that much!"

"Do you think that is why he made sure to drive the Lorcas out?" The taverness wondered.

"He must have bought all their land for a reason, Victoria! He even gave them a reasonable price, from what I remember."

Felipe, who had been listening to the story, despite looking in a different direction and seeming uninterested, soon invented an excuse to leave the pueblo and, rushing to the cave, took a barrel of gunpowder and headed towards the mine Mendoza had mentioned. It hadn't been long since his father told him about a man claiming to have found gold in that mine. Even a shorter time had passed since two others went to investigate it and were almost killed there, had Zorro not intervened to saved them in the nick of time. He was not his father, though, so all he could do was destroy the mine before anyone else got hurt.

Arriving there, however, his heart almost stopped at seeing the lancers carefully entering the place. Even on a disguised Tornado, he had arrived late.

Wondering what to do, Felipe hid the stallion behind some trees and slowly made his way towards the mine when an idea came to him. Returning to the stallion, he searched the saddlebags and was happy to find what he was looking for. The one problem was that he was alone and he could have done with some help, since being in two places at once was a feat not even his father was capable of. Then another idea hit him. He already had the barrel of gunpowder so he arranged the firecrackers he had found in the saddlebags him some hundred feet away from the mine, leaving a long trail of gunpowder to and between them. If his plan was to work, he needed to draw the lancers away from the mine and behind a hill that would prevent them from seeing him blow it up and making his escape.

Meanwhile, the lancers made their way inside, torches at hand, only Corporal Ruiz, one of the men who had accompanied Montalvo from Monterey, aware of what they were truly looking for. The last of them had barely entered the mine when they started hearing what sounded like gunfire close by. Hurrying to exit and have a look around, they did not notice Felipe crouched down behind a bush just a few meters away.

"What is this?" Ruiz asked his men as they got to the place where they had heard the noises. Nobody was in sight but they could see rather clearly the remains of the fireworks and the gun powder. Seconds later, they heard a large explosion and they ran back towards the mine. Its entrance was completely destroyed.

"Who did this?" Ruiz shouted. "Find out who did this!" As soon as he said that, a tremor underneath them caused the seven lancers to disperse, each running in a different direction as if chased by wolves. When the tremor stopped and they looked back, they saw that the ground had collapsed behind them for a portion of over a hundred feet. Should one have been caught in the landslide, he might have made it with just a few broken bones. Nobody would have survived the collapse had he been inside the mine, though. Be it as it was, the view of the rift which had formed was quite terrifying.

Felipe made the most of the lancers' reaction and got himself out of there, just before anyone noticed him.

About an hour later, Don Alejandro, who was bringing news about the collapsed mine found him reading in the library and smiled at the memory of Diego similarly lost in his readings. He missed his son more than he could have ever imagined. Sometimes it even seemed to him like he could hear his voice around the hacienda, only to realize it was nothing more than his imagination. At least he had Felipe, whom he had also raised since he was a little boy, and who had been a true son to Diego, so much so that the young man seemed to behave increasingly like his adoptive father.

The old don smiled and, getting his attention, recounted for him how the same mine the Alcalde was interested in was now impossible to access. Felipe grinned and signed that it had been the lancers' luck that they were not inside when it had collapsed.

Don Alejandro agreed and turned to leave, wondering, like many others in the pueblo, who had blown it up. For a few seconds, the thought crossed his mind that such an action certainly seemed a lot like sabotage, just like Felipe had suggested. Pushing aside the disturbing idea that his grandson might have been somehow involved, the old don went to check on his vaqueros.

Felipe waited for him to leave and then slipped through the sliding panel and into the cave, where he started looking through his father's journals, hoping to identify in them the Alcalde's future targets. He also considered making himself a disguise. There was only one Zorro, and he was not him. Unlike his father, he had no intention of taking on soldiers and bandits. He did not need to leave his mark, since he had every intention not to be spotted. But, should that happen in the future, it was better if he wore a mask that prevented him from being recognized.


	7. Actions and consequences

Montalvo was making progress towards implementing the plan he had set in motion as soon as the Governor had offered him the position. He had not been raised in wealth, but truly wanted it and believed he deserved it. Coming to a post-Zorro Los Angeles was his opportunity to slowly accumulate as much land as possible, so that he might make a good marriage and thus become one of the richest men in the territory. With huge resources at his disposal and his position as Alcalde, he could afterward continue to accumulate more land until his own wealth was to rival none other in California.

Having read Luis Ramon’s and Ignacio de Soto’s reports on Los Angeles, he knew exactly which lands were the best and had quite a few ideas on how to grab them. For that to happen, though, he first needed to combine smaller land parcels into a large estate, and with his fortune secured, could then court and marry his choice of rich heiress.

Encouraged by the people’s lack of any adverse reaction to his deeds, Montalvo decided it was time to hurry up the implementation of his plan, and only a few more farmers were standing in the way of its first part to be completed. 

That was how, when Mendoza refused Montalvo’s order to have his men torch the houses of two poor farmers who the Alcalde and one of his men claimed to have overheard talk about organizing a resistance, the Captain threw the Sergeant out of the military and promoted Ruiz to replace him. Luckily for the former lancer, this happened around the same time Victoria was considering finding a manager for the tavern, and she was more than happy to offer Mendoza the job.

However, the two farmers were not so lucky. Without Mendoza to tell anyone about Mentalvo’s plans, nobody knew until it was too late that the Alcalde had ordered their executions. Sergeant Ruiz and five of his lancers dragged the misfortunate men in front of their houses. With their crying wives and frightened little children as eye witnesses, Ruiz carried out his orders. Afterwards, the soldiers abandoned the corpses and returned to the pueblo without fuss.

Unable to find out in time about the Alcalde’s orders, no one was able to intervene. 

Felipe took the news of the summary executions as a personal failure, certain he had let down his father, not only the poor souls who did not deserve to die. He also blamed himself because a part of him regretted that he had blown up the cave which might have, otherwise, killed the lancers who entered it. He knew Zorro had also saved the lancers, and even De Soto, countless times and never allowed their mistakes to prevent him from doing the right thing. However, he still decided to never do anything to help the soldiers, ever again. 

When the bodies of the two farmers were brought to town, their widows asking Montalvo for justice, he laughed in their faces, confirming his soldiers had acted on his orders and mentioning that they should be grateful he had not made an example of the two co-conspirators, having them publicly executed.

That was when people finally understood who they were dealing with. Their new Alcalde was no improvement on the others. He was worse. His men were highly trained and loyal, he was clever, greedy, ambitious, and had a twisted sense of justice. Worst of all was that he had no reason to fear anyone, since Zorro was certainly gone.

Don Alejandro and Victoria approached the latest events as the ultimate proof that they had been right all along and, just like other dons and even normal citizens, focused on helping the families of the poor men, giving them money, clothes, blankets, and food. Realizing it was not going to be enough and the Alcalde could easily still decide to burn their farms to the ground, the old don also decided he needed to do more. So, while he had no interest in their lands, he bought them, allowing the widows to remain in their houses and redeem them when the danger had passed. 

Don Alejandro, just like Victoria, subconsciously knew that they were only delaying the inevitable, and that more repressions were soon to follow. However, there was an irrational voice in their heads telling them that all they needed to do was buy some time; delay the Captain’s evil plans from coming to fruition. That same incisive voice told them that, sooner or later, some miracle might happen to make everything alright again. Truthfully, in their hearts, just like Felipe, they were still waiting for Zorro to return, even if the conscious thought that that might one day happen only rarely crossed their minds, considering they were rather certain to have lost him forever.

The Alcalde understood all too well that the De la Vegas and the tavern owner were going to be thorns in his side, but, seeing how others were beginning to also defy him, he decided it was not yet time to go against the richest haciendado of the area. Not until he could buy all his lands or deprive him of them in some other way.

He realized, though, that he had underestimated the people of Los Angeles when, after the executions, he found himself with only the lancers for company, everyone in the tavern seated as far away as they could from them. 

He swallowed his pride, realizing antagonizing the people he still needed to one day work his lands and the dons whose daughters he was considering marrying was a mistake. Considering his future actions, he reverted to the friendly, easy-going individual he had pretended to be, for at least another month doing his best to regain the public trust he had lost. 

ZZZ

The first thing Ignacio decided to do upon arriving in his hometown of Cadiz was to visit his family. His father had long since passed away and so had his younger sister, but his mother and his maternal grandmother were still living there, in the house in which he had grown up. The two men were to spend the night there, before taking the morning stagecoach to Madrid.

Over three and a half years earlier, when he had left for California, he had arranged for a quarter of his monthly wage to be sent to his relatives in Cadiz, so that the two of them might have enough money to survive. Being otherwise preoccupied the last five months of his stay in California, and since correspondence with the two women was hard, neither of them having received any education, he had not informed them about his return, nor had he received any news in almost a year, since before the Emissary had died. In fact, while he had completely forgotten about it, his last letter to them he had written that fateful day, just before shooting Gilberto Risendo. 

De Soto thus informed Diego that they were to spend the night in his childhood home, and the two walked the narrow streets of Cadiz as the older man was babbling about his mother’s and grandmother’s certain surprise at seeing him there and about their joy to have him back.

About half an hour after arriving in the port, they, thus, stopped in front of a small white house, situated just 100 feet away from the town’s prison. The place was poorly maintained and Ignacio found himself instantly complaining about the weeds which had taken over the front garden of the house.

There was no answer at his knocking, so they entered the house, finding it empty.

Ignacio looked around, using a broom to make his way through the spider webs towards what had once been his bedroom, then headed towards the back courtyard where the old women were keeping their chicken and ducks. Finding no trace of the birds and paler than usual, he returned to Diego, who had been waiting by the door.

Without a word, he exited and, at an increasingly faster pace, headed towards the house of a cousin of his, situated just a hundred feet away. Diego followed him to another small white house with a green door, in front of which three children were playing. 

“Is your father home?” De Soto asked the oldest of the children, a light-blonde skinny girl of eight or nine.

"He's at the market, senor," she answered. "What do you want with him?"

“Do you know where Senora De Soto and her mother are?” he asked in reply.

“Of course, I know.” the girl answered.

“Well? Where are they?” he inquired.

“What will you give me, if I tell you?” she wondered with a wicked smile.

Ignacio, however, was not in the mood to negotiate with children, so he grabbed her shoulders and shook her “Tell me!” he ordered the startled child who instantly began to cry. At that moment, as Diego was about to intervene, the girl’s mother came out to check on her and was stunned to find the white-haired man standing before her.

"Don Ignacio?" she asked, "You're alive?"

“Of course, I’m alive.” He answered, seemingly surprised at the question.

“We…we all thought you were dead! The letter you sent said you were to be executed the very afternoon in which you had written it! Your mother cried for weeks over you!”

“What letter?” he questioned and paled at remembering it. “No…I had even forgotten I had sent it… I was not executed…”

“Obviously!” the woman answered. “I just wished Dona Maria would have known!”

“Well, she’ll know now! I bet she’ll be surprised.” De Soto made an effort to smile, glancing at Diego, whose face betrayed no amusement, just concern. “Where are my mother and my grandmother?” he turned to ask the woman.

“Your grandmother had passed away just a few days before we received that letter. She had caught a bad cold and was gone in just a couple of weeks. Your mother was thinking of coming to Los Angeles when it happened, since you were all she had left… but then we received that letter. I’m sorry, Don Ignacio. The grief was more than she could endure. For all she knew, her entire family was gone!”

“What? What in the world are you saying?” Ignacio started to panic.

“It was like her entire will to live was just gone, and there was nothing we could do for her. The doctor said she died of hunger, but I swear I took her food every day. She said she was eating it… It was only when my husband found her dead that we even realized she was throwing the food to the chicken. Her grave is next to her mother’s, although the padre almost refused to bury her, saying she had taken her own life. In the end, my husband had to pay fifty pesos so that she could be buried as a Christian.”

“They’re both dead?” Ignacio asked, appalled.

“Si, Don Ignacio. I can take you to the tombs. But… fifty pesos it’s a lot for us… We had thought we’d at least get the house to give as dowry to our daughter… But if you’re not dead…”

Ignacio took out his money and counted fifty pesos to give to his cousin’s wife, then asked her to take him to the tombs, Diego still silently following him.

They spent the night at a tavern, neither of them uttering another word till the next day, one because he had no idea how to deal with his grief, and the other because he knew not what to say. Diego’s instinct was to find a way to console his companion, but, at the same time, his mind kept reminding him Ignacio was not his companion but his captor. The man who caused his own family and pueblo to suffer in his absence and who was about to be cause his own death.

ZZZ

Despite their initial doubts, Dario and Vanesa adjusted fairly well to Madrid and their new apartment. Since it was situated on the ground floor of a three-story building she had converted the first room into a dress shop and already had several happy clients. Her husband had recently gotten a job as a doctor working for the King’s Guardsmen, and he had an office in a building adjacent to the Royal Palace.

That meant he did not need his own office at home, which was fortunate, considering they only had one room left and, as a recently-married couple, spent a lot of time in their bedroom. Truth be told, it was especially lucky since she was already pregnant with his child and needed a place to rest when her legs were no longer able to cope with the extra weight of her increasing belly.

“Did you find out anything?” Vanesa asked her husband as he returned home. 

He didn’t know much about his aunt, and his mother had always refused to talk about her. He only even met the woman and the young man she claimed to be her son once, over twenty years earlier. Even on that occasion, he had been introduced to as his mother’s young master, as she pretended to be his governess. 

What he did, however, remember, a few weeks earlier, was that his mother had once mentioned she was about to become a nun when he “came into her life”. Since that knowledge dawned on him, and realizing, from the letter she had left him, that she was living in Madrid at the time, he had made the most of his very limited free time visiting the convents in town, hoping to find someone who knew her and might be able to provide him with, at least, some clues as to who he truly was. 

"Less than I hoped but more than I had expected.” he answered. “I found the convent she was to join. Some of the older sisters even remembered her. Yet, nobody had any knowledge of the child she claimed to have taken from the monastery. Nobody ever went to reclaim the baby and the sisters never knew he was even there. 

“One of the nuns, Sister Rebecca, said she remembered my mother having talked about her dreams. She is still convinced it had been an Angel of God sending them. But what kind of angel instructs a woman to do what she did?” Dario wondered.

“I don’t know, my dear. Each time I read her letter to you I just feel more confused. All the lies and the deceit, letting you believe you were her bastard child, when you were not her son and she didn’t even know where you came from! Her dreams… I don’t understand why she had thought God had made her an invalid as a punishment for not paying for your studies in Madrid. She surely didn’t have the money to support you!”

“She did, actually!” Dario contradicted her. “It was when she got injured that we lost almost everything. Before then, she still had most of her parents’ inheritance, which she had reclaimed after giving up the nunnery. From what she told me, she didn’t want me to come to Madrid because of her sister. But she had these dreams of me walking the streets towards the university here for several years, or, at least, it’s what she told me. They only suddenly stopped a few days before her accident. It’s why she believed it was God’s punishment for her disobedience.”

“Yes…you already told me that… but I still can’t understand. You really think they were real, Dario?”

“Her dreams saved my life at one point when I was a child. But that is a story for another time. And she did dream about you long before I even met you. I just wish I knew what it was so important in Madrid that she dreamt about it for almost four years.”

“Whatever it was, perhaps it was better that you studied in Barcelona and then moved back home. We would have never met otherwise!” she pointed out, as she pulled his head down towards her for a kiss. “We were lucky to have met now!” she continued after their lips parted. “I told you I was quite close to marrying once, when I was barely eighteen. Fortunately, the caballero refused to be matched up by his relatives. I had never even met him, and I was expected to follow him to the colonies! Imagine that! After that incident, I had thought he had given up on finding me a husband but, apparently, he had just promised me to that friend of his from Barcelona. His sons were all married but he decided I’d make a good second wife to the first of them to become a widower. And my father agreed! I still find it hard to believe it!”

“You were never meant to be someone’s replacement, Vanesa!” Dario assured her. “Are you happy? Having chosen me? I mean… You deserve a better life than I can give you, we both know that…”

“I will never regret marrying you, Dario! I love you with all my heart and I can hardly wait for our child to be born!” she cut him off.

“You look more radiant by the day, my love!” he told her, a hand pressed on her belly, trying to feel the baby inside moving.


	8. Madrid

Traveling by stagecoach, it took the strange duo two weeks to reach Madrid. Once there, De Soto found the man he had entrusted with the letter for the King and burned it in front of his travel companion. As he did that, he wondered if Diego would go back on his promise, perhaps even kill him to save himself. He wouldn’t have blamed him, he realized. Yet the caballero did nothing but acknowledged that his old schoolmate had kept his end of their bargain and assured him, once more, that he would keep his. After all, Ignacio knew his identity and that letter did nothing to destroy the knowledge in the man’s head. All he could do was the one thing he had promised himself to never do: kill the man.

As for De Soto, returning to his home in Madrid was something he had yearned for all those years he had been away, craving to be yet again able to sleep in his own bed, eat his favorite food, drink with the few friends he had. Almost four years it had been since he had left the Capital and, despite having just suffered the loss of his mother and grandmother, which he had not seen in years, there were still people he was yearning to see. More precisely, he was looking forward to meeting with the only two people in town he had ever considered his friends.

Ricardo Anciano and Mateo Martoni had once been his colleagues in the Academy. Their families were richer than his but, despite that, the two always considered him their leader and he certainly enjoyed the kind of attention they gave him. 

Therefore, leaving Diego to get comfortable in his apartment, and taking away the key – not that he had any illusion that such action would prevent the tall caballero from going out, should he want to – he made his way towards Plaza de la Constitución, and towards the building in which both his friends lived, only one floor away from each other. On the way there, however, he realized that, for him to make the triumphant entrance to the palace which he had played out in his head for years at that point, he needed two horses. 

Thus, after a stop at a horse breeder he knew, mounted on his new white stallion and dragging behind a dark-black one, he made his way towards his friend’s house. 

“Ignacio? Ignacio de Soto?” Ricardo asked at seeing him in front of his door. “What are you doing here?”

"I just arrived back and decided to visit some old friends." He answered, puzzled at the fact that the man was showing little enthusiasm at seeing him. "Tell me, where is Mateo? I passed by his door but he didn't answer. Is he still spending most of his time in the tavern?"

“Mateo? He just married a couple of months ago and left for Sevilla. His wife’s father is a rich merchant there and he arranged him to be promoted to Lieutenant with the garrison there.”

“Mateo’s a Lieutenant? Well…that is news. How about you? You’re not a General, by any chance, are you?” De Soto asked a little irritated that the man made no move to invite him in.

“No…not exactly. I am not in the military anymore. Things have much changed these last few years, Ignacio. I did not get along with my new commander and he booted me out. It’s been rough ever since.” The man replied, sensing Ignacio’s annoyance for not being invited in. But how could he invite him when his living conditions were appalling? “Why don’t we go out for a drink, and I’ll tell you everything you missed while you were away?” he offered, already exiting the house.

ZZZ

In the meanwhile, Diego went through De Soto’s library, decided to occupy his time reading. Not finding anything worth his time, he wrote a note for De Soto, informing him he’d be back by 10 pm and decided to go out for a last visit of Madrid. He still had a few friends he would have gladly seen, one more time, and he was also considering going to his grandfather’s house, hoping to catch a glimpse of the old man. However, since, for all anyone knew (or was about to find out) he was supposed to be dead, he also decided a disguise was in order. An elegant ducktail beard framing his handsome face should be enough, in his opinion, to fool people who hadn’t seen him in a decade.

Needing his whip to get down from the second floor where Ignacio’s apartment was situated, he decided to also take his belt and sword with him. After all, Madrid was rumored to be infested with thieves and he had every intention to return, knowing full well what De Soto was capable of doing if he failed to do so.

He, thus, headed towards the University, admiring the building one more time, before making his way through the busy streets towards various houses, near which he stopped to catch a glimpse of their inhabitants. He only got to see two of his friends and his families, but he was more than content with that. 

It was already seven in the afternoon when he arrived at his grandfather’s house. It was a three-story, brick house, close to El Retiro. The sumptuous building had withstood the changes brought about by the previous two centuries, in all that time sheltering several generations of the remaining Laras. It was also the house in which he and his twin brother had first seen the light of day. 

The mansion was quiet and Diego remembered his grandfather used to like taking a walk through the park in the evenings. So, after some fifteen minutes spent standing in front of the house, he decided to head towards the park. After some twenty minutes of strolling through its rather neglected alleys, he found the man he was looking for, seated alone on a bench, feeding some bread to the pigeons. 

His grandfather was alone and he was certain that it was to be the last time the two would ever meet. Therefore, without any words, he headed for the bench and took a seat next to the old man who stared at him for a little while, then turned his attention back towards the birds.

“If you are here for me, just give me a few more minutes to finish feeding them.” his grandfather simply stated.

“I’m just here to talk, Grandfather.” he replied.

“I can’t believe you died before me, Diego. You’ve always been such a good young man. But then, it is said that God takes the good people first.”

“How did you find out?”

“Alejandro’s letter arrived yesterday. But shouldn’t you know that? Don’t ghosts know everything?”

Diego didn’t answer.

“You should have come to take me, Grandson. I have already lived more than I ought to have lived. Eighty years is just too long.”

“Don’t say that, Grandfather! We all have the whole of eternity to be dead but so short a time to be alive…”

“But it is true, Diego! I got to outlive too many of the people I loved in this life… My daughter, Elena, your poor mother, died when you were just a child. And my youngest son, Joaquín, followed just six months later. We received the news about Elena a few days after burying him. It was such a hard blow that your grandmother, my poor Teresa, could not survive it. In just a year, I lost a son and both the women I loved most in this world. Then, I lost Antonio.”

“Uncle Antonio is not dead, Grandfather.”

“Priesthood, death, what’s the difference?” the old man answered irritated. “He’s a Cardinal now, but he’s in Rome. I have seen him only once in the last twenty years. Then, I lost Álvaro, to that dreadful woman eight years ago! He always refused to get married because he had no intention of allowing a woman to have a say in how he lived his life, and then he fell in love with that Ángela. But that woman is no angel! She convinced him to move to Barcelona, and I hardly received any news of him since. They have two children together, I know that… but I’ve never even met them. They probably only speak Catalan, and I could not even communicate with them!

“All I have left is your uncle, Juan Carlos. And we all know by now that he’ll never give me any grandsons, no matter how much he and his wife try. Truth is, one way or another, you’ve always been my only grandchild, Diego. My pride and joy. And yesterday… yesterday I found out that you were dead!” the old man told him, turning to face him with tears in his eyes. “I’ve always loved you more than I have my own children, young man. Those years you've lived with me while attending the university… they might have been strange years for Spain, but they were good years for me! Your presence here brightened up my life. All of our lives! Just like Elena used to do. You’ve been so much like her, in so many ways.”  
“Father always said that, as well…” Diego answered.

"How did you die? Alejandro didn't mention that in his letter. Did you suffer? Was it an illness?"

“No… It’s a long story and I don’t have the time to tell it to you, Grandfather. I… I just wanted to see you one last time… and to say goodbye.” he replied, his eyes also filled with tears. “I hope you know I’ve loved you and, even if I haven’t seen you in such a long time, I have thought of you very often.”

"There hasn't been a day in which I hadn't thought of you, Diego! I always hoped you'd come to visit me with your wife and children… At least I get to see you one more time!" the two men smiled sadly at each other. "I prefer you with only your mustache." the old don said after analyzing his grandson's face. "Next time you come to visit me, make sure to shave off the rest. I hardly even recognized you!"

“I will, Grandfather.” Diego agreed. “Now, it’s getting late. Perhaps you should go back home or Uncle Juan Carlos might miss you.”

“He’s not here! He’s away this entire week. You should know that! I always thought ghosts know everything!”

“Only God knows everything.” the younger man answered as he stood up. “Goodbye, Grandfather!” he wished he could have hugged him but he decided to play along with the old don’s decision he was a ghost.

“Say ‘Hello’ to your mother and your grandmother for me, Diego! Tell them I will see them again soon! And tell them that I very much miss them! Just as I miss you, my child!”  
Diego nodded sadly and, as a bird distracted his grandfather, he made sure to vanish behind a nearby tree. The old don shook his head as tears fell from his eyes, then wiped them and slowly made his way home. Unknown to him, his grandson followed him until he entered his house.

After spending a few more minutes just looking at the house, Diego then made his way back towards Ignacio’s apartment.

ZZZ

Ignacio and Ricardo headed, on horseback, towards the house De Soto inhabited to leave the mounts in the stables, then made their way towards a nearby tavern they used to go to while in the Academy. The moment the wine bottle they had ordered was brought to the table, Ricardo poured himself a glass which he drenched in a few gulps, then did the same with a second, before the man he expected to pay for the bottle was even able to pour a glass for himself. 

“So… what is the news?" De Soto asked.

“News? There’s nothing new…except those progresistas are now in charge. But that’s old news already. They are not that great, either… always quarreling amongst themselves… But the King is still king… He doesn’t like them, though! Can you get me back in the army?”

“Well… I am sure that, after tomorrow…the King will certainly see me with new eyes, my friend. A rather important promotion is in my future, I am certain, and… I can see to it that you are reinstated, perhaps even promoted…But tell me, why were you kicked out?”

“It was because of a woman… You know how these things go. I liked her and I tried my hand… How was I supposed to guess she was married? He was this strong type… tall and well-built… handsome devil, too. He punched me almost senseless and, when I drew my gun, the Commander of the Royal Guardsmen got in the way. Next thing I knew, I was being booted out of the military for trying to defend myself!”

“Yes… I can certainly understand your frustration, Ricardo. A commander siding with a thug against a soldier is inconceivable!” De Soto confirmed just as the memory of himself shooting a lancer to defend Zorro flashed through his mind.

The conversation lingered a little more on their friend Mateo and several former colleagues of theirs until De Soto decided it was time to leave, despite it being rather early in the evening. That was, especially, because he was realizing, with some concern, that his companion became less and less able to formulate a coherent thought as the wine was flowing freely through his veins. 

They barely took ten steps away from the tavern when they felt themselves get pulled towards a back alley. 

“Your money or your lives, senores!” a dirty fat man with brown teeth asked them to pick, as his companions were nailing them to a wall behind them.

“I think you are making a mistake!” De Soto pointed out as he used one of the moves he had often witnessed Diego do to free himself. Holding one of the thugs, his own knife at his throat, he then asked the other two men holding Ricardo to let go of him. As soon as they did, his friend simply ran away, without a word, leaving him behind.

“Seems like your friend deserted you!” the same bandit who had spoken before mocked him. “I guess it’s your life, in that case…” he proceeded to utter, as he took out a gun and pointed it at Ignacio’s head.

The former Alcalde let his knife fall from his hand and, cursing both his attackers and his so-called ‘friend’ reached for his money, handing them the twenty pesos he still had with him. 

“I don’t think you understand.” the brown-toothed thug told him. “You already made the choice when you attacked my man. On your knees!” he proceeded to indicate.

“You’re not really going to kill me, are you? Because, if you do, you should know that you’ll be hunted down and the King will take no pity on you!” De Soto did his best effort to threaten.

“I very much doubt anyone will care about you, senor. And they are hunting us down already, anyway!” The man replied.

As he said that and prepared to shoot, Ignacio spotted Diego at the corner of his eye. For a fleeting second he believed himself saved, but soon remembered that the caballero had absolutely no reason to save his life at the expense of his, so he closed his eyes, waiting for the bullet. He opened them again when he heard Zorro’s whip taking the gun out of the thug’s hand, as his sword was already disarming the other three men, which he soon left unconscious. The leader of the gang ran away just as five lancers arrived at the scene, in time to tie up and lead away the men Diego had caught.

De Soto gave him an intrigued look, and they both headed for the apartment.

“Why did you leave?” he asked on the way. “You gave me your word that you wouldn’t try to escape.”

“Your choice in literature is appalling. I was getting bored. So, luckily for you, I decided to leave.” Diego replied.

When they arrived at the building, De Soto stopped by his downstairs neighbor to ask for another envelope which he silently gave to Diego. 

“It’s the last one, I promise!” he stated, wondering at the tall caballero’s baffled expression. “This is why you saved me, isn’t it? You knew there was one more!”

“You said there were only three!” he replied in a tone of voice only angry Zorro used. 

“Yes…” De Soto chuckled “but you knew there was a fourth!” he mainly tried to convince himself.

Diego looked at the envelope, then at De Soto “How do you even expect me to trust you will keep your end of the bargain when you bluntly lie to me?”

“I… You didn’t know? You must have suspected, at least!”

“Suspected? Ignacio, we had a deal! I surrendered myself to you under the one condition that my family and Victoria were to be left in peace. You double-crossed me!”

“I did not double-cross you! It was just my insurance. I was planning on destroying it tomorrow, after our meeting with the King. I didn't tell you about it because I thought you might double-cross me! You truly did not suspect it existed?" 

"No! Are there any more?" he proceeded in asking.

“More? No… no more. I promise. And, as long as you keep your word, there will be no other and nobody will ever know Zorro’s true identity unless you, yourself, decide to reveal it.” De Soto replied.

“I won’t.” Diego replied frowning at him, and entered his room, shutting the door behind him.

De Soto remained staring at it for a couple of minutes, then spent much of the night wondering why Diego had saved him that evening. And when Gilberto had tried to execute him. And when he was about to be burnt by the Indians. And when he was blind, about to fall from a bridge. And all those other times.


	9. The King's Justice

Diego and Ignacio did not converse much over breakfast after the former asked the latter if he was sure he wanted to go on with his plan, and De Soto confirmed he did. After that simple exchange, they sat, mostly in silence, until Diego asked for them "to get this over with."

An hour and a half later, they were being received at the Royal Palace, Diego dressed in his black Zorro clothes, mask included, hands tied up behind his back. De Soto was triumphantly accompanying him on his recently-bought white stallion.

After finding out the reason for their presence there, one of the King's servants guided them to a small waiting room, adjacent to the Throne Room. Six Royal Guardsmen were then positioned to guard the prisoner. Diego found that fact rather amusing given the situation.

About five minutes after they had arrived at the waiting room, they were guided in to see King Ferdinand.

"You are a man of your word, De Soto!" the King noted as his former Alcalde bowed before him. "So this is the rogue!" he continued to state, getting up from his throne to take a closer look at the man in black, as if inspecting a new horse he was being offered. "You are Zorro?"

"I am, Your Majesty." the masked outlaw confirmed.

"Take off his mask!" the King ordered one of his soldiers who hurriedly obeyed. "I know you!" he noticed upon looking at his face. "Where do I know you from?"

"I don't believe you do." the unmasked hero answered, fearing the man might have recognized him from the first and only time they had met, when he had been introduced to court, just before he had left for California. "My name is Salvador Gilarranz."

"You seem familiar, though." the King insisted. "Anybody recognizes the name?" he asked his court, but nobody answered. "Are you truly as good a fighter as they say?" he returned to ask Zorro.

"Give me a sword and a whip and I will show you, Your Highness!" Diego answered with a sly smile that displeased Ferdinand the VIIth.

"That would not be wise." one of the King's men counseled. "I mean, it wouldn't be wise to have him armed here, in your proximity, Your Highness. Perhaps a demonstration might be arranged in the gardens, though, if enough guards are present."

"Yes!" King Ferdinand agreed. "We'll watch from the balcony."

"Your Majesty" the Commander of his guards intervened "shouldn't we put his mask back on? I mean… if he has been Zorro to gain fame for himself…"

"We should make sure not to allow him that honor!" The King continued, agreeing with his man. "Tie back his mask and make sure nobody takes it off again!" he ordered and failed to see the relief across both his prisoner's and his Commander's faces.

With a sign of his hand, Ferdinand had his loyal subjects follow him to a balcony facing the gardens behind the palace. Meanwhile, Zorro was being escorted on the lawn beneath them and a perimeter of twenty soldiers, muskets ready, was formed around him. The King selected his four champions carefully, from among his best men, then asked for the prisoner to be given a practice sword and for his hands to be untied. Since the soldiers were armed with real blades, Diego's chances were rather slim and De Soto doubted he'd be able to best all four well-trained men, for the first time ever, realizing he was genuinely concerned for the caballero.

They surrounded him and attacked almost at the same time, from different directions. Moving fast, the black-clad man was able to avoid the most dangerous thrusts of the swords, getting out of their way just seconds before they slashed through him, yet still received two cuts to his arms. Ignoring the pain, he managed to disarm his opponents, one by one, meanwhile replacing his practice sword with one taken from an adversary, and collecting a second one in his left hand.

Seeing his men defeated only infuriated the King, who ordered six others to replace them and the duels continued, as even the courtiers were involuntarily beginning to side with the brave outlaw. By the time the fighting was done, all the King's men disarmed, Diego bleeding from multiple injuries and barely able to stand, Ferdinand could hardly contain his rage.

"I'll teach you to defy me, senor! And your death shall serve to warn others harboring similar intentions!" he shouted. "I hereby sentence you to receive fifty lashes before you'll be executed by dismemberment. The sentence shall be carried out tomorrow at midday! Get him out of my sight!" King Ferdinand ordered his men. "And I don't want you giving him any water or food until his execution!" he asked the Commander. "Am I clear?"

The Commander of the Royal Guardsmen nodded and asked his men to escort Diego to the dungeons.

"Your Majesty" De Soto, who had been more than a little surprised at hearing the King's decision, felt the need to intervene, as soon as his former nemesis was taken away "aren't you, perhaps, a bit rushed?"

"Rushed?" Ferdinand questioned what he perceived as rudeness from De Soto.

"I mean, yes, he's been a thorn in my side for years, but he is hardly worse than a common thief and he has also saved many of Your Majesty's lancers. Wouldn't some years in prison be a more just punishment in his case? And, his skills should not be overlooked. He's the best fighter I've ever seen. Perhaps he could even train your men, considering how easily he defeated them…"

"Have an outlaw train my men? Have you gone mad or are you simply forgetting your place, De Soto?" the King retorted. "He openly opposed the ruling of the men I have appointed, which makes him a traitor to the Crown! I have no mercy for traitors. It's because of those like him that Spain has to fight so many costly wars in the colonies!

"As for you, I appreciate you having caught him. But, considering you have cowardly shot my Emissary in the back, be glad I am not sentencing you to suffer the same fate! You are, however, stripped of all your ranks and rights, and condemned to exile! Should you set foot in Spain again, you will know firsthand the agony I am about to inflict on that masked fiend you brought me! Yet I'll be generous. I'll give you two weeks to leave this territory! Now, get out of my sight!" As he said that, the King signaled his guardsmen who forcefully removed De Soto from the palace and escorted him outside the gates before he could utter another word to the man holding the reins of the Old Kingdom.

His military career at an end, forced to abandon forever the one place he longed to live his life in, he stumbled on his feet and fell on the ground, tears falling from his eyes. In the blink of an eye, Ignacio de Soto had lost everything. He had given up his office to return home to a family who was already gone, a town he was no longer allowed to live in, a career which no longer existed. All he had risked, all he had survived, all he had done led him there and he was feeling angry. He was feeling furious, and disappointed, and betrayed by his King. He was also feeling cross with himself and remorseful for what he had done, his actions condemning Diego to a horrendous death; a fate from which Zorro had once saved him. And for what? He questioned himself.

When he felt strong enough to get up, he somehow made his way, as in a daze, towards the nearest chapel, where he kneeled and prayed. He prayed for his mother and his grandmother, for his sister and his father, for the grandparents he had never even known, but, most of all he prayed for Diego. He did not ask for forgiveness for his deeds since he realized he deserved none. Nor did he wanted to be forgiven. Ignacio de Soto realized, as he was kneeling in that church, that God had already started punishing his mistakes and agreed that he deserved his wrath.

All he truly wanted at that moment was for God to somehow spare the man he had just realized he considered his friend the agony of the painful death his actions had sentenced him to suffer.

He cried and prayed for hours, as he had never done before in his life, not even when his sister was dying.

By the time he tried to stand up and leave, De Soto realized he could no longer feel his legs, nor were they moving when he wanted them to. So he remained there, further contemplating in silence the many mistakes he had committed and which had led him to that time and place. During those remorseful hours, he also remembered Captain Sotomayor's words, only now fully understanding them.

ZZZ

The Commander of the Royal Guards had quite the shock at seeing Zorro without his mask. He knew that the few of his men who had also seen his face had a similar surprise and was only thankful they had not mentioned it to the King. He was also grateful to the Providence for his quick-thinking at having the King order for the man's mask to be put back on.

Luckily, Ferdinand never had a great memory when it came to faces, nor did he have any regard for those so far below him as a mere doctor. Yet it was exactly that mere doctor Commander Alberti needed to see; the man who had saved the life of his baby girl and whose life he had once saved, in turn, when a drunken Sergeant had tried to shoot him. In fact, part of him was wondering if it was not also that mere doctor locked up in a cell, waiting for his execution.

"Call Doctor Risendo!" Commander Alberti asked his lieutenant, as soon as he walked into his office.

The man hurriedly complied and the prison's doctor was there within a few minutes.

"Have you asked for me, Commander?" he inquired, pretending to be irritated.

"Your medicine is not doing anything for me!" the man shouted, as his Lieutenant closed the door.

"Perhaps I should have another look at your injury." Dario replied as he neared the man. "What happened?" he asked in a low voice.

"I needed to make sure it wasn't you… " the Commander answered.

"That it wasn't me?"

"Indeed… I… Dario… your cousin, Gilberto… he died in California."

"That is what you told me… Los Angeles, I believe."

"True... What I didn't tell you was that he died while trying to kill a caballero, one who, according to his men, turned out to be his twin brother."

"Gilberto had family in California? But from all I found out, nobody knew who he was. Not even my aunt Ynez who had raised him!"

"No… But your aunt believed you to be the child she had raised… She thought Gilberto was you. Which means…"

"It was my brother he was trying to kill!" Dario realized as he fell into a chair. "Good Lord! But he didn't succeed, did he? He did not kill my brother!"

"No…he was killed just before pulling the trigger."

"So…I have family? In California? Why… Why have you never told me this before? You only told me the Alcalde there had shot him in the back to prevent him from killing someone. But you never told me..."

"I didn't realize it was important until today. I'm sorry, my friend, I know I should have mentioned it, but I… I just... I thought I spared you the trouble of thinking he was capable of something like that. Trying to murder his own flesh and blood. Plus, the men who had accompanied Gilberto had said there was some proof of his true identity… A birthmark… That it was how he had been recognized."

"The birthmark? My mother faked the birthmark when he replaced me with Gilberto. She confessed to it in the letter she had left me."

"I didn't know, Dario…" the commander answered a little disconcerted. "But, it's also why I called you… there's a prisoner you need to see, my friend. He… he's been sentenced to…King Ferdinand's favorite form of execution… But you need to see him before!"

"Isn't our King tiring of torturing innocent men?" Dario wondered, irritated. "What kind of person does that to another human being?

"I'd rather you didn't speak like that. The walls have ears in this palace."

"I'm sorry, Commander. I… It's frustrating… that's all… Is he a good man?"

"One I'd be honored to know better."

"I'll go get a vial and visit him." the doctor agreed.

"Yes, get the vial… But, Dario… I think you should prepare yourself. This man... I think you might get some answers from this man… he's from Los Angeles."

The doctor nodded. "I see. May I ask what crime he has committed?"

"Treason. The one you need to see has admitted and proved to be Zorro."

"Zorro? As in the Californian Legend? Wh…What is he doing here? How… "

"He was brought in by the former Alcalde, as a gift to the King. Dario, the man defeated twenty of my best fighters, but he is injured. You should also tend to his wounds. It might not help much, but it will alleviate his suffering, and will make a good reason for the two of you to spend some time together."

"Right. I will do that. But how about your men? Don't they also need my help if they had fought him?"

"He didn't harm any of them. He could have, but refused to. All I know is that you need to see him, to talk to him… and leave Madrid as soon as he is dead."

"Leave Madrid? What are you talking about? I've just started here a few months ago. Are you firing me? Why?"

"No… It's not that. It's for your safety, my friend. You'll understand… I… I think you need to go to Los Angeles. Perhaps you still have some family left there. But first you must talk to this Zorro… Salvador he said his true name was. I'm sure there is much you need to say to each other…"

"You're not making much sense, Commander. No… You...you are scaring me, because I feel there is something you aren't telling me."

"Go see him and you'll understand! I'm sure he might be able to give you your answers and, maybe, you can give him some comfort… "

Dario looked intently at him and nodded. There was something strange about his friend, about the way he had looked at him and about the way he had spoken to him. A feeling of dread invaded the doctor as soon as he left the office, and he stopped twice on his way, leaning against the wall, trying to make sense of Alberti's words.

Was the Commander telling him the prisoner he was about to see somehow possessed the key to his true identity? He's been trying to find out his real name since the day he had read his mother's letter. Was he actually about to have his answers? For a fleeting moment, Dario wondered if he even wanted them.

Taking a deep breath, he headed for his office. There, he selected a vial of poison from among the ones he had concocted to help those King Ferdinand was sentencing to death by dismemberment. Not everyone he had offered it to had decided to take it, because ingesting it was, in fact, suicide in the eyes of God. Furthermore, Dario was painfully aware that he was risking his own life offering it to the condemned men, but, after having witnessed one such execution, he started to believe it was worth the risk.

If he would have been a fighter, such as Zorro, he would have saved the men. Or he would have tried to, at least. But he was no warrior. Therefore, the only thing he could do was make sure they didn't suffer and hope he wouldn't be discovered, because he truly wanted to meet his child. Standing by, though, watching those men undergo their agonizingly brutal death was, however, not something he could do.

Taking a small bag, he, thus, put in it the poison and a few medical supplies he believed he would need to treat the blade wounds. After checking he had everything he needed, Dario made his way towards the castle's dungeons, where the sentenced prisoners were kept, awaiting execution.


	10. A tale of two brothers 1

Zorro was shackled and escorted to a small, dirty cell, littered with human excrements. The smell was even worse than in the cell Diego was forced to stay in while on El San Domingo, and he desperately looked for a somehow cleaner spot to sit down, feeling that his legs were about to fail him. However, just as he was choosing his spot, the cell door's was opened. There were four soldiers there and one of them politely asked him to step outside, so that an older woman who was accompanying them might have the opportunity to clean up the place.

While it had a negative effect on the King, his fight with the guardsmen had, nonetheless, gained him their admiration. Not only had he defeated them all, but he refused to draw their blood, even when they did their best to injure him. This was how they decided he should be treated with some respect, thus bringing the cleaning lady, half an hour before their Commander gave a similar order. A thin mattress, although dirty, was also placed on the floor for him to sleep on, something they had never before done for all those other men accused of treason, which had previously spent there the last night of their lives.

Since he was barely able to stand, he was grateful for the small privileges and, as soon as his shackles were removed and the guardsmen left, he lay on the mattress, a hand under his head, facing the wall.

He had not been surprised when the King passed his sentence. After all, hadn't Gilberto mentioned Ferdinand the VIIth had grown fond of such form of execution? He had known what was to be his fate since before he left Los Angeles. All he wanted now was to die with dignity, and his vials of poison could achieve exactly that. The substance wouldn't kill him but render him paralyzed, barely able to feel anything. While the effects of one dose only lasted about an hour, taking them both at the same time would render him paralyzed for half a day. That meant that, even as the horsemen, pulling in four different directions, ripped his body to pieces, he would feel nothing. He would just die from the blood loss without giving the King and the spectators the satisfaction of hearing one scream from him.

The only trick was that he had only five minutes between the ingestion of the poison and the moment he would start feeling its effects, but he still needed to walk to the place of the execution. That meant that he needed to take it just as he prepared to receive the fifty lashes, considering that no normal man would be expected to walk on his own after such a whipping, and the soldiers were to carry him, anyway.

"Senor!" he heard a voice from behind him, as he was considering where on him to place the vials so that he might be able to reach them at the needed moment. "Can you hear me?"

The black-clad man didn't reply since he just wanted to be left alone.

"Guard!" the visitor called.

"Si, doctor!" the man on duty answered.

"I am here to treat this man's injuries."

"You are wasting your time, Senor. I am to die tomorrow. A little infection won't make much of a difference." Zorro stated, not turning to see the man he was addressing.

"I beg to differ." he contradicted him in what seemed like a strangely familiar voice.

The doctor made a sign to the guard and the man on duty opened the door to the cell to let him in, then closed it and left the two of them alone.

"I was told that you are one of the many who do not deserve the death you were sentenced to suffer." the doctor whispered as soon as the guard had left. "I can help." he continued to the black-clad man's increasing amazement. "I can give you a poison that will kill you painlessly. All you need to do is make sure to swallow it just before they take you to administer the lashes, tomorrow. It will not take away all their pain, since it needs half an hour to make its effect, but you should be dead before the tenth lash is administered. I'm sorry I cannot prevent your death, but the poison will be swifter and more dignified than what the King has in store for you."

Zorro smiled, considering if suicide was, given his predicament, acceptable for a good Christian. It was, certainly, an easier solution, logistically speaking, since it allowed him to take it before even leaving the cell.

"I was also told you are from Los Angeles and might provide me with some answers I am seeking." The doctor proceeded to add.

Everybody wants something…Zorro thought as he turned to face the doctor.

As he did so, he remained staring at the man, unable to believe what he was seeing. The doctor had his eyes, his nose, his lips… his face. He might have even looked identical to him, had it not been for a few different choices in terms of facial hair, which made this other man look a lot like he had looked with the false beard, the previous evening. Even so, for a few seconds, the man behind the mask wondered if he was looking into a mirror.

"Who are you?" He asked, rising to stand, unable to hide his surprise.

"My name is Dario Risendo…I am the doctor here." the man replied, looking straight into his eyes.

"Risendo? As in…Gilberto Risendo?"

"You knew my cousin?"

"Cousin?"

"Yes… He's dead, but I guess you must already know that if you come from California… Why are you looking at me like that?"

Zorro could hardly understand, but knew in his heart who it was staring back at him.

"Do you…Do you have a birthmark…on your inner thigh? A red cross, on your right leg, near your knee?" he asked the man before him.

"How can you know that?" the doctor asked back.

For the first time that day, Zorro smiled, as he took off his mask to allow Dario to see his face. "I have one as well…" he said. "I think you are my twin brother. Your aunt tried to pass Gilberto as my twin, but this can't be a coincidence!"

It was Dario's turn to stare into his mirror. "Brother? You? That means you know my real name? You know who I am?"

"I know your surname." Diego stated, then became concerned and suddenly found himself averting his eyes as he put his mask back on. "But… Gilberto had tried to kill me and my… our father. If you were raised as a Risendo, how do I know you are in any way different from him? How can I even trust you with your name, knowing that I risk the lives of those I love, just by saying it out loud?"

"I had heard that… that Gilberto tried to murder a man he thought to be his brother. I guess I get it now… why the Commander thought you were not his, but my brother, instead, after seeing your face. But I would never kill anyone. I'm a doctor for a reason. I can't even handle a sword and my aim with a gun it horrendous. Not that I picked one up more than once…" he made an effort to convince the man before him that he was nothing like the one who had tried to harm his family.

"My mother… the woman who raised me," he continued "Beatriz Risendo… she let me believe, for over thirty years, that I was her son. I had no idea she had taken me from her sister until after she died. She had written me a letter… She was convinced that her sister had taken me from my parents but never admitted it; nor did she ever tell her where I came from. My mother…Beatriz had…dreams which she was convinced were showing her the future. Those dreams and overhearing her sister talk to herself about a vengeance plan for which she was intended to use me was what convinced her that she needed to get me away from that woman.

"When I was about a month, Ynez went to Cadiz for a few weeks and left my mother… her sister, to take care of me. Beatriz was preparing to become a nun at the time and, one morning, she found a newborn left on the steps of her convent. Apparently, that baby and I shared some common physical features. That's how she got the idea to replace me with him. Nobody even knew about him being abandoned and she made sure to cover her tracks… Until a few months ago, I had no idea that my birthday was a month earlier than I had always celebrated it. I still don't know the exact date… Can you tell me?"

"February 19th." Zorro answered, deciding he owed him at least that much. "We were born on February 19th, 1788, here, in Madrid, in our Grandfather's house."

"February 19th." Dario repeated. "Grandfather? We have family here? In Madrid?"

"Yes. Our Grandfather is still eighty-years-old now. He lives with an uncle of ours and his wife. We also have family in Barcelona and one of our mother's brothers is a Cardinal in Rome."

"We have family in Barcelona? But I lived there for years. How… " Dario's eyes grew wide. "Oh… I remember… A few years ago this man approached me. He called me… I don't remember the name… and when I told him he was mistaken, he apologized and headed in the opposite direction, looking back twice. He thought I was you, didn't he? But the Commander told me your name was Salvador, and I'm quite sure the name he addressed me with started with a D, just like my name."

"Yes… Salvador is the name I gave the King, so that my relatives would not be associated with me… but it's not my real name. Dario… we recognized Gilberto because of his birthmark. I don't understand, though… how did he have it, if he was not my brother?"

"For the deceit to be believable, Mother faked Gilberto's birthmark. She said that she had noticed mine one day, when she was changing me. When the idea of replacing me with him occurred to her, she asked a blacksmith to make a specific type of branding iron. It was her biggest regret… having harmed Gilberto as a baby… that and not sending me to study at the university here, as her dreams had told her to do."

"I studied at the university here… But I had left Spain some ten years ago." Zorro told him with a sad smile, realizing he could have met his brother over a decade earlier. "The woman who had raised Gilberto – Ynez – she filled his heart with hatred, so that he would exert some twisted vengeance on us. Our parents never knew there was another son. Senora Risendo had drugged my…our mother, to steal the firstborn. Our father only found out he had had another son when Ynez told us, and Gilberto showed us the birthmark. That was but minutes before he died."

"So… I have a father, as well?" Dario asked as tears started filling his eyes. "More family?"

"Yes" Zorro decided to trust him. "We have a father, back home, in California… I have an adopted son and there's a woman I love…she's like a daughter to our father, as well. She might also be pregnant with my child, but I did not dare to marry her since I was a wanted outlaw."

"I can understand that… But, they just abandoned you?"

"They didn't abandon me. They think I'm already dead… and they don't know I'm Zorro. I never told them. "

"How…Why did you come here?"

"My… enemy… the former Alcalde of Los Angeles, Ignacio de Soto, found out who I was. He managed to set a trap. He made me choose between my life and the lives of those I love and fought for, all those years. It was a rather simple choice, frankly. I faked my death and came here on my own free will because I didn't truly have another option."

"Could you let me have a look at those wounds? I might not be able to do much, but, if I can ease your pain a little, at least, give me that chance!"

The caballero thought about it but made no move to take off his shirt.

"Won't you be punished for doing this? For taking care of my wounds and offering me the poison…"

"For the wounds, no… I can always say I wanted to make sure you don't die before the execution… The poison… Well… If the men loyal to the King ever catch me with it, I'll probably share your fate. But it was the Commander who had sent me, and he always warns me if someone is not to be trusted. He's a good man and he seems to admire you. Not only for how you fought, but because you refused to injure his men. It's why he thought you were worth the risk of doing this. That and the fact that we look like one another and he was certain that you might help me find the answers I seek."

"How many times have you done it before?"

"Offering the poison? As often as I could. Nobody deserves to die like that… Many of the people the King sentences to death are good men, just as you seem to be. But it's risky. Two of them already took it the night before the execution and the guardsmen found them dead in the morning. Sooner or later, they will probably realize what I'm doing."

Zorro took a moment to consider Dario's words. Somehow, the man before him seemed trustworthy and he was rarely wrong about people. He was also his real brother, whom he would have liked to know, and whose heart had not been filled with hatred by the woman who had raised Gilberto.

"My name is Diego. Diego de la Vega" he eventually decided to say.

Dario smiled at him. "It is nice to meet you, Diego!" he stated.

"You too, Dario!"


	11. A tale of two brothers 2

"Dario de la Vega." he smiled. "I like that name. Wait… I know that name! The letters I found in Aunt Ynez's apartment mentioned someone called Alejandro de la Vega."

"Our father…" Zorro answered, intrigued. "What did they say about him?"

"That it was because of him that the man she loved, a certain Antonio Cordoba, was never able to return to her."

"Cordoba? That man killed our uncle, Alfonso. He was his superior officer and Cordoba shot him in the back. My… our father's men pursued him for decades, until they caught him near Los Angeles, a couple of years ago. They and Father brought him to justice, and he was hanged for his crimes shortly after. "

"So he lied to her… And she separated me from my family to get her revenge on our father?"

Zorro shook his head, a grim look on his face. "She never wanted to tell us why she had done what she did. After Gilberto died, she didn't speak another word. Was she… sentenced? Do you know what happened to her?"

"She killed herself. Threw herself off the ship bringing her here. I… I inherited her apartment. It's how I found the letters."

"You inherited…" Zorro couldn't suppress a sarcastic chuckle. "She had told our father that Gilberto was the one supposed to inherit his fortune and you, our father's true son, turned out to be her sole heir. How's that for irony? She'd be turning in her grave if she had one."

"Will you tell me about our parents? I'd like to know where I come from."

Zorro smiled and nodded. "Our mother died when I was twelve. She was an amazing woman: beautiful, gentle, very bright and extremely talented. She always treated everyone with respect and kindness, and people loved her for that. I'm sorry you never got the chance to know her and she never got the chance to know her other son…

"Our father was alive and in good health when I left Los Angeles. He's a rich caballero. A little too quick-tempered for his own good, but a fair and generous man. He…He believes both his sons are dead…but you are alive. You should go to him…He will love you unconditionally, and I'll die knowing that his other son would be there for him."

"I… I'm not sure I can. My wife is five-months pregnant with our first child. The voyage there is too long. My child would be born on a ship, or in a tavern… Then, there are the dangers of such a voyage. I can't risk their lives, Diego."

"You're married?" the masked man asked. "Our father always wanted grandchildren. He's been pestering me to marry and give them to him for years, ever since I had returned from Madrid. He deserves to know your child. Children, with some luck… And he will spoil them like no others. Our family is one of the richest in California, and you can all have a carefree life there."

"Like you had?" Dario attempted to joke, sensing the irony of that statement. "California is far away and, even if I waited for my child to be born and left afterward, I am not sure I could protect my wife and our baby on the way there. I'm not exactly a fighter, as you are. I'm a doctor."

"Our father has lost two sons, for all he knows. The only family he has left is my adopted son, Felipe. He is sixty years old now. Please, Dario, you must go to him! Hire some men for protection and go to reclaim your rightful name as his son and heir! And don't tell him we have ever met."

"I…I'll have to think about it!" Dario stated, completely shaken by their conversation and the desperate plea of the man before him; the man who was, at the same time, a complete stranger and the closest blood relative he had. "Here..." he said, giving his brother the vial containing the poison he just realized he was still holding. "Remember to only take it when they come for you! Now, let me have a look at your injuries!"

"No... Really, there's no point…"

"Please… I barely found you, only to lose you tomorrow. If this is all I can ever do for my only brother, then allow me to do it!"

"It's not all you can do. You can go to Los Angeles and take care of those I love." Zorro uttered, then, with a sigh, he slowly opened his shirt to reveal seven blade wounds, two of them still bleeding, as well as a whole mosaic of old scars he had gotten while riding as Zorro.

"Good Lord! What have you done to get these?" Dario asked, unable to help himself from inspecting each and every one of them.

"I fought for my people and opposed the tyranny of the King's alcaldes." He replied with what Dario perceived to be pride in his voice.

"Right…you are a Legend from what I hear…"

"I'm just a man."

Dario stared at him, trying to remember all the stories he had heard being told about the Legendary Fox of Los Angeles, slowly coming to terms with the idea that the face of the man behind the mask so much resembled his own and the same blood ran through their veins.

"You said you were rich. Why did you become an outlaw, Diego?" He ventured to ask, as he started disinfecting and patching up the new wounds on his brother's body.

"My…our father raised me to believe we have a responsibility towards those weaker than us. A responsibility to protect them and to fight against the injustices others would inflict on them. When I returned home after four years spent here, at the University, I found Los Angeles in the hands of a tyrant. Among other things, he had decided to sentence to death all those unable to pay their taxes, and to forced labor those who spoke against him. When Father and Victoria tried to stop him, he had them both thrown in jail. So, I created Zorro in order to give that tyrant someone to fear and thwart his plans, without the risk of repercussions against the people I love. And it worked. For almost a decade, it actually worked."

"Then how did you end up here?" His brother asked with growing admiration at hearing his words.

"The second Alcalde, Ignacio de Soto...he was the one who saved my life when Gilberto tried to kill me. He had been trying to kill Zorro for years, and saved me without knowing who I was. You see, when I became Zorro, I had to split myself into two men: one who was studious and unable to fight, and the other who wore a mask and was his exact opposite. On the day Ignacio saved me, he heard me fight and defeat Gilberto, a deed my public persona was not supposedly capable of. He also heard Gilberto's last words. The Emissary was a very astute fellow… evil, but clever. He had figured out my secret the moment our duel started, and was about to reveal it when De Soto intervened. The Alcalde, however, eventually managed to figure out the one word Gilberto never get to utter. As soon as that happened, he made up his mind to bring me to Spain, as a gift to the King, instead of just hanging me on the spot. He believed that was the easiest way to get what he wanted: a promotion back to Madrid. Ignacio, thus, did the smart thing and arranged a trap. One I could not avoid. He wrote letters stating that all three people I love as life itself had been my accomplices in my treasonous actions against the King. Two he sent to Spain, with instructions to be handed over directly to Ferdinand the VIIth. One he sent to be delivered to the Viceroy in Mexico City, and one he sent to be delivered to the Governor, in Monterey. He then informed me about his little initiative and gave me the option to either risk the repercussions the delivery of those letters meant, or come with him voluntarily, stopping the letters' scheduled delivery as we made our way towards Madrid. He also made me give him my word that I would not try to escape, after the letters had been stopped, and offered me, in exchange, his help to fake my death. That was the one way I knew to make sure nobody realized Diego and Zorro were one and the same."

"Why didn't you return to California after stopping the second letter? You could have made your escape and, by then, there would have been enough time for our father to sell everything so that the four of you could flee the territory, before the other letters were to be delivered to the King and Ferdinand had the chance to retaliate."

"That would have condemned them all to become fugitives with prices on their heads. Live all their lives away from everything and everyone they knew. I knew my options… And I know they would have followed me if I'd have given them that option, despite the sacrifices they would have had to make. But there are others I also needed to consider...people depending on us, on our father, for their livelihoods. I am no coward, Dario. I do not want to die, certainly not now and not like this, but I will not destroy all the good I have done, just to save my life. Besides, as I've already told you, we also have family in Spain. Who knows what the King would do to them if he ever found out… just for being related to me."

"Yes… I think I know what you mean… He is rather irrational these days."

"My perspective exactly…"

"The news is, however, that New Spain might become independent soon. Mexico they want to name it."

"The revolution has lasted a decade already, and who knows what would happen to California even if Mexico declares its independence. Who knows how long it will still take for that to happen, anyway, or who will rule it and how? From what I hear, the rebel forces are loyal to Ferdinand and are considering offering him to be sovereign of the new state, should independence be proclaimed."

"That's true… I heard that, as well… So none of those you love knows the truth about you?"

"My son does. Our father I led to believe I was just half the man I am, so that the other half would remain forever hidden behind Zorro's mask. Not even Victoria, whom I love with all my heart, knows. Dario... If you go to California...would you make sure she is safe? And, if there is a child… would you care for that child of mine?"

"Of course." he assured him with tears in his eyes. "Did you… did you kill many people?"

"I never purposely killed anyone. Two men have died as a consequence of my and their own actions, but I never meant for that to happen, even if they did their best to kill me. I hardly ever even drew blood. Punching my adversaries unconscious is more of my style."

Dario nodded and offered his brother a kind smile. "How many people have you saved?"

"As many as I could. I never really counted." the caballero answered.

"I only had my mother growing up" his brother stated "I mean… Beatriz Risendo, the woman who raised me. I had always thought I was her bastard son. You can imagine my shock when I found her letter and realized she was not even related to me. It's why I came here. To find my cousin and my aunt, so that they might tell me who I truly am. I was too late, though. When I arrived, they were already dead. I almost lost hope that I would ever find out who I truly am when I received the news that they were gone. But I had rather never found out, than do so under the current circumstances."

"I am glad to have gotten the chance to meet you, Dario! I am grateful for that. I'll, at least, die knowing I'm not leaving my father without descendants. I'm just sorry I won't get the chance to truly know you. That we didn't get to grow up together and that you were denied the life our parents would have offered you."

"I am sorry about that, too… but I had a good life, Diego. My adoptive mother took good care of me and we loved each other very much. She was a good person and a great parent. We might not have been rich, but we were happy." Dario assured him.

"I am glad to hear that. I do, however, hope you decide to go to California and meet your true family…or what's left of it." Zorro told him. "Also, you should go meet the family we have here. Our grandfather's name is Manuel Felipe de Lara. He lives in Calle de Atocha 121. He'll be glad to meet you, Dario. And our uncle, Juan Carlos, and his wife will treat you like their own son. It's how they've always treated me."

"Are you ready, doctor?" The guard interrupted them to ask. "The Commander should be here soon, and you know he doesn't like you very much."

"I am finishing, private!" Dario answered. "Just give me a couple more minutes."

The soldier left and Dario finished with his last bandages. "He does like me." he then told his brother. "We are partners of some sort, as you can imagine… but it's better for everyone to believe the opposite. We can protect each other better that way."

Zorro smiled, then stared at his brother, who did the same, looking into his eyes for what they were both certain to be the last time in their lives. After embracing each other, the doctor called the guard to let him out, just as the Commander was entering the prison for his daily inspection. Zorro buttoned his shirt and lay back on his mattress as soon as he could no longer see Dario through the dungeon's tunnels, then fell asleep for a few minutes, before the Commander woke him up at reaching his cell.

"I was impressed with your skills, senor." the man stated. "Who was your fencing master?"

"Sir Kendall." Zorro answered.

"The best swordsman in Europe. No wonder you are so good with the blade!" he remarked. "I wished the King had pardoned you. Perhaps you could have taught my men a few of your tricks."

"Your men are good fighters, Commander. Believe it or not, there aren't many who can injure me in combat."

"I can imagine that. I'm sorry about… It will be me and my men carrying out your sentence tomorrow. I hope you might forgive us."

"It is not you, or your men who need to ask for my forgiveness." the black-clad man answered. "You are just following orders."

The Commander grinned at him thankfully. Not everyone understood, as Zorro did. Many had cursed him and his soldiers. Many times they had cursed themselves for what they were about to do. Yet they were military men and their job was to obey the orders of the King even if they disagreed with them.

"I will arrange for a monk to come tomorrow morning, at eleven. He can listen to your confession, if there's anything you still need to make your peace with, and give you the last rites. Senor… we are not allowed to give you any water and food, as the King ordered, but the monk can do as he wants. Is there something you would like for us to arrange with him? Wine? Some particular food you might like?"

Zorro's face displayed a sly grin at the offer. He understood why his brother would choose the man to be his accomplice, since they both seemed just as kind. "I appreciate your offer, Commander, but, perhaps you could use the food you would have sent me to feed some poor beggar. I fear it will be wasted on a man about to die, anyway."

The soldier looked at him stunned and prepared to leave, half-turning towards the door. "Goodbye, Senor Gilarranz! God be with you!" he uttered as he turned back to face him one more time. He left him, with a heavy heart, decided to feed as many beggars as he would find on his way home that evening, and hoping his friend had finally received his answers. He was also hoping Dario, too, might forgive him for what he was about to do.


	12. Unexpected revelations

A little over five months after Ignacio de Soto took Zorro away, and left the pueblo to embark for Acapulco, New Spain, and ten days after the poor farmers had been executed by Montalvo's men, two sailors arrived in Los Angeles. They asked for a room to share at the tavern, and quietly sat at a table, waiting for Pilar to serve them dinner.

The place was packed, and the conversations rather quiet, most people avoiding to sit anywhere near a table occupied by lancers.

"Where are you gentlemen from?" The tavern helper asked, flirting with the two rather good-looking men, as she brought them two plates of albondigas soup.

"Everywhere, Senorita." One of them replied. "We're sailors."

"If you are sailor, Senores, what are you doing in Los Angeles?"

"We are just passing through. My friend, Gaspar, and I are traveling to San Bernardino to visit with a relative of his, and we understand there's a stagecoach tomorrow morning."

"I see, Senor…"

"Vasco. My name is Vasco, senorita. My friend and I are both sailors on El San Domingo, which is harbored in San Pedro." The man answered in a very friendly and polite manner.

"El San Domingo?" They heard a young pregnant woman ask from behind the bar. "Isn't that the ship Sanchez said the former Alcalde embarked on when he left?" Victoria asked Mendoza.

"I believe it is, Senorita!" He answered. "We don't suppose you, Senores, would remember a tall white-haired man in his late thirties…"

The two men stared at each other "De Soto?" the sailor asked. "Ignacio de Soto?""

"Yes!" Victoria almost shouted. "You remember him?"

"He's a hard man to forget." Vasco answered.

"Almost as hard to forget as Senor Gilarranz." His companion confirmed.

"Gilarranz?" Mendoza asked and looked at Victoria. "Isn't that the name Zorro gave to that woman at Fortaleza del Diablo?"

"It is." She confirmed, as the tavern became suddenly silent, all conversations paused to listen in. "You've seen him?"

The two men looked around, digesting her words. "Zorro? Senor Gilarranz is Zorro?" Gaspar asked, suddenly aware that everyone's attention was on the two of them. "That's why he had him locked up…"

"He was still alive?" Victoria inquired, as tears came to her eyes. She knew she shouldn't have shown all her grief, that she still needed to pretend, so that nobody would suspect she was lying about her child, but she just couldn't help herself. She needed to know, and she had already waited too long for them to keep silent even one more minute. "Was he injured?"

"No… I mean… De Soto had him flogged one day, but…"

"Flogged?" She sounded too distressed even to herself. She knew she needed to calm down but that was almost like asking her to cease being an Escalante.

"Si… but it was only five lashes, and the Captain asked us to take care of the wounds. He recovered in a few days… then…"

"Then what?" Her impatience was growing but everyone else's in the tavern was at the same level, so nobody, except Sergeant Ruiz, even paid attention to her eagerness to receive news of her former lover.

"Then the ship was about to sink, and the Captain released him. He decided to, at least, give him a chance to survive… instead, Senor Gilarranz helped us save the ship. We're probably only alive thanks to him." Vasco recounted.

"The Captain then insisted on giving him the best cabin onboard, despite De Soto's protests. And he had us all behave towards him like towards any other passenger. He even allowed him to duel with us. I fought with him once on the deck. He is quite the master with the blade. I always considered myself a good fighter, but I was no match for him." His companion stated.

"None of us was. Now, at last, we know why." Vasco uttered with a smile, as he took a bite of his food. "He's also got quite the big brain, doesn't he? Must be the brightest man I've ever met. All the passengers were fascinated by him!" He continued while inelegantly chewing on his food.

"Do you know where he is? What happened to him?" The taverness wondered.

"All we know is that they left together." Vasco informed her. "A companion of ours helped them find themselves a couple of good horses, and they left for Mexico City."

"But De Soto said that he was taking him to Spain, to the King." Gaspar remembered. "It was what he said when they first embarked."

"You've seen Zorro's face?" Don Sebastian asked from a nearby table.

"We've seen Senor Gilarranz's face. If he is Zorro, then, yes…"

"And he didn't try to escape?" Mendoza questioned.

"No. That was the strange part. We've had other prisoners onboard and they always do their best to get us to help them make a run for it. A couple even managed to get out of the cell and threw themselves overboard, preferring to drown than face prison or execution. But not him. Even when the ship was about to sink, the Captain told us that his first thought when he freed him was of saving De Soto. And he never made any attempt against him, as if he was there on his own free will, not a prisoner. The two of them were even calling each other by their first name." Gaspar answered, and the people just stared at each other in disbelief.

"Actually…" Vasco contradicted him, "the Captain also told me once that Senor Gilarranz had said that De Soto managed to trap him in some way. Something to do with his family, I think."

"If he knew who he really was, he probably threatened to hang those close to him." Mendoza explained, looking at Victoria, who just nodded.

"What did he look like?" a young Senorita asked from a table she was sharing with her father. "He's protected us since I was just nine years old and, in all this time, nobody has seen his face."

The two sailors shared a glance and Vasco understood he was supposed to speak. "Tall, black-haired, blue-eyed… had a mustache. Handsome, I guess, considering how the women onboard looked at him; he had no scars on his face… but he did have quite a few scars on his back and arms, if I remember correctly. Most of them blade wounds, I think; a few made by bullets. I did wonder at those when I helped treat his injuries, after De Soto had whipped him."

"But he was a caballero. At least, that's what the other passengers believed, considering how well educated and mannered he was." Gaspar decided to also contribute.

"Charming, I think the Senoritas Espinoza described him." His companion confirmed with a smile.

"Well… that's of no help. We already knew all that…" Victoria complained. "Don't you remember anything else? Something that would, at least, help us find out who he really is?"

"I'm sorry, Senorita, it is all we can tell you. Of course, if we saw him again, we could recognize him, but… it didn't seem like he was coming back. In fact, he seemed resigned to never returning."

"That's true. While he was normally cheerful, which, I've always suspected was just an act to spite Don Ignacio, from time to time, I would look at him when he believed himself to be alone. I don't think I've ever seen a man looking as sad as he did in those moments..."

"Please! Please, tell us everything you remember! We have wondered for so long what had happened to him!" Victoria begged them.

"We…" Vasco looked at his companion. "We know De Soto had claimed a big reward for his capture. It's one of the first things he had said when they arrived, and he asked for him to be locked up. Then, he asked that no mattress be provided for him and that he would only be fed bread and water. And while he was locked up, he would visit him daily… I think he was expecting for him to crack, but he never did. That's why he had him whipped. 'A lesson in humility' he called it… but Senor Salvador didn't complain then, either. It was De Soto who was humiliated when the Captain stopped him and forbid him to get anywhere close to his prisoner, while on the ship. Then, when we almost sunk, Senor Salvador was the one who came up with a way to save us all. He even managed to prevent the captain and one of our companions from falling overboard. Then, although he could barely stand, he helped all the people who were wounded, including De Soto. After that, everything changed. The Captain took quite a liking to him. They used to spend a lot of time together, dueling, playing cards and chess, or just discussing… about almost anything, to be fair. I once heard them talk about constellations."

"Well… we… we should talk to your Captain, then! Perhaps he can tell us more. Where is he? Is he in San Pedro? What's your captain's name?" Victoria insisted, for a fleeting moment imagining Salvador Gilarranz had Diego's face, since he clearly had a lot of his interests and features, but dismissing that idea at sadly remembering that Diego was resting in a grave, while Zorro was still alive, somewhere on his way to Madrid.

"Captain Alfonso de Loyola." Vasco answered. "But, I'm afraid you cannot talk to him, Senorita. We headed for Panama after we stopped in Acapulco, and, while there, he contracted malaria. His symptoms manifested two weeks after we started our return voyage. But…we had no doctor on board, and nowhere to stop for help. He died within a few days. "

Victoria let herself fall on the nearest chair, her face betraying the same sadness reflected on the faces of most of the other people in the tavern.

"I'll never know." She uttered, as if only then came to that conclusion.

"There's one thing I don't understand, though." Mendoza decided to point out. "How did the Alcalde know to cash in the reward for Zorro? He didn't even enter his office after he'd been captured. How did he know he would capture him?"

"He probably stole the reward and got lucky." Don Bernardo offered an explanation, and nobody contradicted him, most people just nodding their heads as the taverness, Mendoza and Pilar quietly returned to their respective duties.

Victoria recounted later that night the conversation with the sailors for Don Alejandro and Felipe. While the former cursed De Soto quite loudly, neither the taverness, nor the haciendado saw the two tears gushing down Felipe's cheeks as he silently said a prayer for his father's safety.

ZZZ

De Soto left the chapel just before sunset, his heart just as heavy as it was when he had stepped inside.

Unsure where to go, his steps directed him towards the prison. He was hoping, he realized, to get the chance to visit Diego and ask for his forgiveness. He needed to explain that he had been wrong, that he no longer wanted him dead, that he didn't believe the King would condemn him. He needed to tell him that he would help him escape if he could come up with a plan for him to do so. Zorro was so much better at coming up with clever plans than he was. Yes… De Soto smiled. A clever plan and he will be out in no time. It's not like a simple lock has ever held him back in Los Angeles. He mused to himself.

His smile faded as soon as he arrived at the entrance to the prison. There were ten guards positioned in front and right behind the first set of gates, then more followed, stationed at every twenty feet. Gathering his courage, he asked to see the commander, only to be informed he had left for the evening, after making his rounds. Visiting was also impossible, since, at the King's orders, the prisoners there had no right to receive visitors.

Resigned, he turned around, head bowed, and headed in the direction of the castle's entrance, where his horses were still tied up to a post. He barely took a few steps when he bumped into Diego's spitting image. De Soto looked at the man with a confused stare on his face.

"Did the King pardon you or have you escaped?" He asked Dario.

The younger man just stared at him. "I'm sorry Senor, but I don't believe we know each other." He answered.

"Good one, Diego!" De Soto smiled, relieved.

"Diego? Oh… No, I am not Diego." He replied.

"I think I know you fairly well, Senor! It was I who brought you here, after all… " Ignacio insisted.

"You must be De Soto." Dario concluded.

"And you know that very well, since we've known each other for about fourteen years now! Diego, I was coming to see you. I… I had no idea that the King would sentence you to death."

"Let me stop you right there, Senor." Dario paused his ramblings. "Diego is in prison, due to be executed tomorrow. I am not him and I doubt he wants you saying his name out loud."

De Soto let out a strange, short chuckle, and grabbed his arm. "No… You must be Diego… That beard can't fool me! You wore one just like it just yesterday. I would recognize you anywhere."

Dario looked at the stranger's hand folded around his left arm, then gave him a look Ignacio had only seen on Zorro very few times. One that spoke of anger, repulsiveness, of disappointment, and… of daggers. Yes, if looks could kill, that was Zorro's killing gaze in Dario's eyes. The younger man freed himself from his grab and was about to turn away to leave, when De Soto made one more try.

"Wait… please! Look, I know you believe I want you dead and I thought so, too… but I don't! Not anymore, at least. You saved my life too many times, and I'm through ignoring all you have done for me. I swear. I… I tried to defend you, but the King... I hate admitting it, but I was so wrong! About everything. Please…" his plead died on his lips as two soldiers passing by, saluted his interlocutor, whom they called 'Doctor Risendo'.

"My name is Dario." He decided to say at noticing his baffled expression, after having heard his confession. "I was raised in Barcelona. I've never been anywhere outside of Spain and, up until a couple of hours ago, I had no idea I had a brother, least of all a twin. One you, not just the King, have condemned to death."

"His brother? You mean…Gilberto…"

"I was raised as Dario Risendo by Ynez's sister, Beatriz."

"I didn't shoot Don Alejandro's son, then? There is another De la Vega?"

Dario nodded, his eyes darkened by sadness.

"So… you are really not Diego? He is still there, still sentenced to die?"

"He is, Senor."

"Then we must do something!" De Soto replied, visibly regretful for what he did, yet encouraged by that miraculous encounter. "I…I couldn't live with myself if he died like that. I was ambitious and naïve and utterly stupid! You are right to accuse me. All of this is my fault, for so many reasons! Diego shouldn't die because of my actions!"

Dario gave him a puzzled look, at the same time noticing, with some concern, that they had attracted the palace guardsmen's attention. "Perhaps we shouldn't discuss this here, Senor." He suggested. "Would you care to join me at the tavern? I'd like to hear more about my brother."

"Yes…Of course…We should find a tavern." De Soto agreed.

Neither De Soto, nor Dario and Vanesa slept much that night. The young woman was more than a little shocked when she was told everything that had transpired during the day, and found herself agreeing with the Commander that they could no longer remain in Madrid. The risk was too great that the King or one of his faithful men would notice the resemblance between her husband and the man due to be executed the following day. If that happened, both of them and his entire family, the one he had never met, were in danger.

It, thus, didn't take her much time to realize that she was more than willing to travel with Dario to California, as long as that meant that they were both as far away as possible from Spain and all the troubles they seemed unable to avoid there. The young woman also knew how much the man she had chosen wanted to find his real family. Looking at him that evening, she had little problem figuring out that he was already suffering for the impending loss of his brother, despite not having met the man until that day. There was also something else in his eyes. She had noticed it while he had made love to her at dawn. A certain determination mixed with grief she had only once before seen in him, the night they got married.


	13. Sacrifice

Diego woke up at sunrise, despite the fact that no ray of sunlight could penetrate the dungeon in which he was being held. He thought about his father, about his son and about Victoria, saying a few silent prayers for their health and happiness. Thinking about the previous day, he smiled at remembering his brother, and uttered a silent prayer also for him and his family, asking God to somehow take them home to Los Angeles, safe and sound, so that his father might get at least one of his sons back.

As that was done, he lay back on the mattress and allowed himself to remember, once more, the night he had spent with the woman he loved. He tried to remember her voice, which had faded from his memory over the past months he had spent away from her, how it felt to touch her naked skin, to feel her breath on his neck, her kisses on his chest… how it felt to make love to her. Once. At least he died knowing he did his best for her to be safe.

He then gave thanks to the Lord for being allowed to keep his mask on. He realized that the Commander had suggested it for Dario's sake, but he had also other reasons to be grateful for that suggestion.

On the one hand, there was still the risk that someone in the crowd, perhaps a former colleague, or friend, might recognize him, if they saw his face. He had changed during the past decade, but not enough to fool anyone if they had a closer look at him, just as his grandfather had not been fooled. On the other hand, he thought that, considering it was Zorro being executed, not Diego de la Vega, he should die as the masked outlaw, not as the unmasked don.

A little while later, a monk was brought into his cell, so that he might make his peace with God. It was earlier than he had thought, considering that, as per the Commander's words, the monk was to arrive but one hour before his execution. However, time did seem to be moving faster that day and he was in a dungeon, with no real idea as to what was the hour.

At 11:45, the Guardsmen came to take the prisoner for his execution. The masked man heard them ask for the guard on duty to open the cell and turned his back to the door. After a silent prayer, he raised a trembling right hand and hurriedly swallowed the liquid from the glass vial he was clutching in it. Once the poison was in his stomach and he was certain to be dead before the real torture began, he stood tall and followed them out of the prison. He thought he'd be terrified, knowing he was about to die. But he was not. He was relieved.

As he emerged from the prison, the dark, oppressive air of the dungeon abruptly gave way to the bright sunshine and the dry, fragrant air of the courtyard. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness of the glorious Madrid sunshine. The crowd's murmurs became a hushed silence as he strode into their view.

He marveled at how extraordinary his senses seemed. Was it his imagination, or were his feet heavier than they were before? He wondered if these were side effects of the poison entering his blood or did this happen usually in the moments before death? Probably just the chains. He realized. He refocused his thoughts on what he was doing now, walking one step at a time, surrounded by guardsmen. There was no escape and he knew that. More so, it had been his choice. He would not cower but remain brave and steadfast in his last moments.

They guided him towards the plaza in front of the palace, where the pole that he would be tied to while receiving the fifty lashes stood upright, and the horses were awaiting to pull his body apart. He briefly realized again what a horrendous way that was for a person to die, and thanked God he was, in truth, spared that fate. If there was one last wish he had in him, it was to die with dignity, as everyone in his family had done before him.

On the way there, he noticed the two men he expected to see, standing in front of the crowd. He knew at that instant what they were planning to do, but there was no point in it. He had already made his decision, and he didn't do it only for him. No… He had not taken that poison just to save one man, but many. He knew that was precisely what he was doing, and it was for that reason that it felt right doing it.

He also knew he needed to talk to them. A few words only, but still, they needed to be said. It was the only way to make sure his sacrifice would not be wasted.

They were just a few feet away, to his right. But his hands and feet were shackled and it would have been impossible to walk to them, given the fact that he was also heavily guarded. But he still needed to find a way. What would Zorro do? He asked himself, then suddenly realized that was not the right question.

Another step and he was close enough. Close enough to stumble and indignantly fall right next to them.

The two hurriedly came to his help, the Guardsmen allowing them access to him after recognizing their doctor. It was not, however, the time they had chosen, not the time at which they had intended to act. But they were considering it. He could see it in their eyes.

"I'm already dead!" He hurried to whisper "I took the poison. There's nothing you can do for me!"

"What? No! Why? I had a plan!" Came the whispered answered from one of the two.

"I left you a letter. Forgive me! Ask them all to forgive me!" He answered back, before he was pulled away by the soldiers.

The two were left standing, a couple of feet away from the crowd, watching in shock and dread, unable to do anything to save him.

When the entire procession reached the plaza, the King watching from the palace's balcony together with his faithful men and a crowd of hundreds watching from its outskirts in silence, the prisoner was chained to an upright pillar and the back of his shirt torn.

The Commander read from a sheet of paper the list of the crimes Zorro had been accused of, as well as a short paragraph, introduced at Ferdinand's decision, which explained the extent to which such traitors needed to pay for their deeds.

When that was over, one of his men took a whip and started delivering the thrashing.

The first ones were delivered mercifully, leaving no more than some dark-pinkish traces of their passing. The masked man clenched his teeth. He would not make a sound. Not long now. He thought as he was gradually becoming unable to feel parts of his body. Five. He counted as his mind was slowly but certainly stumbling into darkness. His heart was pounding but his lungs were starting to fail, as if they no longer wanted to function. Seven. Just a little longer. He told himself as he raised his head a little. The man he was looking for had followed the crowd and was standing somewhere to his right, several yards away, with what seemed to be tears in his blue eyes. He made an effort to smile to him but wasn't sure he actually succeeded. Eight. There was no power left to raise his head further, so he raised his eyes to see the sky one more time. The sky of Madrid. Nin…

The two men knew he was dead when his head fell as the soldier prepared to deliver the tenth trash. The whip started cutting deeper after that, splitting the skin as it poked at it and the blood gushed out as if it was rushing to escape the body.

When all the lashes were delivered and the first part of the sentence carried out, the doctor was called. Visibly shaken, he reached to feel the black-clad man's pulse, sensing, as he already expected, that there was none.

"He's just unconscious!" He confidently stated, masking his shaking voice, and the King signaled for the execution to proceed. The Commander nodded, gave the doctor a rather strange look, and ordered two of the Guardsmen to take the body to the center of the plaza where its arms and legs were chained to the four horses. It lifted from the ground as the mounts first made a step, each in a different direction.

"This is where they usually wake up and start to scream!" the King noted joyfully, taking a step further to stand closer to the edge of the balcony, his mouth half-twisted into a smile of anticipation, hoping to hear the insolent traitor yell in pain.

This is the more graphic part…Ignore it if you don't feel up to it

Another signal was given and the horses each started pulling as much as he could, trying to get rid of the impediment holding them from moving forward. The masked man's right arm was the first to be torn, and the left one followed, then the right leg, leaving the fourth horse to drag the bloodied torso, still attached to the left leg, several tens of feet towards the prison's gate, leaving a trail of blood behind him, until his rider finally brought him to a stop.

Some in the crowd cheered as the man's hands and right leg snapped, but the grisly spectacle also proved to be more than many could stand. As women buried their heads in their husbands' chests and others just adverted their gaze, the two men to whom the condemned man had entrusted his last words and wishes turned their heads to watch the King. Both of them watched in disgust Ferdinand's disappointed face at not hearing the cries he had so hoped for.

This is where the most graphic part ends…

The Spanish Ruler was furious. That was the fifth time, as far as he had counted, within only the last three months, when a prisoner had not regained consciousness in time to yell in pain at being dismembered. "Something is wrong!" he shouted, as he turned to leave the balcony. He felt it in his guts: he was being sabotaged. He didn't know how, but he was certain of it. Out of eight men executed that way, during those last months, only three had cried. Everybody used to cry before! He thought.

The guardsmen gathered the body pieces into a wagon, and the remains were then taken and literally dumped into an unmarked grave, which, had they checked, they would have found empty the next morning.

ZZZ

"Comandante!" One of the guardsmen saluted at entering his superior's office, four days after the execution. The man was standing with a glass of brandy in his hand, doing his best to ignore the knot in his gut.

"I told you to bring Doctor Risendo!" He admonished, seeing that his man had returned alone.

"I cannot find him, Commander. All I have found in his office was this letter addressed to you." The man answered, handing over a sealed envelope.

The Commander doubted whether to take it, but did so, doing his best to disguise the dread he was feeling in his heart.

He dismissed his soldier with a hand gesture, before taking the letter out to read it. When he finished it, he let out a breath of air he didn't realize he was holding, and he closed his eyes for a few moments to say a silent prayer. "God be with you, my friend!" He uttered out loud when he finish, sadly looking out the window.

After Zorro's execution, he had barely seen the Doctor. When he did, they only exchanged a couple of words, and Dario hurried out the door, as soon as he had the chance. Seeing your friend give the order for your brother to be tortured and killed might not be an easy thing to digest. He told himself.

He had done what Dario had asked of him. Allowing him to impersonate a monk was certainly risky, but, from what his men had told him, his friend had been smart enough to use a disguise. They hadn't even noticed that the monk was taller than the one normally visiting the condemned men before their death.

Zorro might have died without a confession and without anyone reading his last rites, but the two brothers had one last chance to talk to each other. He had hoped that helping him would gain his friend's forgiveness, but, instead, the Doctor had been behaving strange during that last few days. He's been elusive, withdrawn, much more careful than usual with his words. He even looked strange to the Commander, who had observed his sudden decision to grow a bigger, thicker beard. Hiding more of his face, though, also made sense, given the situation.

But now, he had finally taken his advice. He did not come to say goodbye in person, but he couldn't even blame him for that. I had killed his twin brother. He has every right to be angry with me. He tried to justify Dario's behavior. I just hope he'll forgive me one day.

"Linares!" He shouted and, seconds later, the man entered. "Lieutenant, Doctor Risendo informed me that he decided to quit his position. No wonder, I guess, considering I was about to fire him, anyway. I will, thus, need you to find a replacement for him, as soon as possible!"

"Si, Comandante!" The man agreed and hurried to comply. The man, however, regretted the doctor's decision and was more than a little upset with his Commander. After all, it was a known fact that the two of them had never gotten along, even though all the Guardsmen had instinctively liked Dario Risendo from the moment he started working there. They were also quite certain he was giving something to the condemned men to ease their pain and, those who suspected it, supported his initiative, since they, too, were repulsed by those inhumane executions they had to carry out.

They were soldiers and wanted to be loyal to their King. But that loyalty rested on faith, and their faith had crumbled when Ferdinand had condemned two of them but five months earlier. Their poor comrads had screamed and begged, but there was nothing anyone could have done for them. There was no Doctor Risendo back then to help prevent their sufferance.

The Commander had been furious for weeks, although he did his best not to show his anger. So were they. More so, they were also scared. Terrified that one of those days, they, too, might fail the King and Ferdinand might condemn them to suffer the same punishment. Without their Doctor, there would be no one to help them. They would die screaming in total agony as their limbs were ripped apart from their bodies.

But, then, the Doctor, too, had a family he needed to consider. The King was rumored to have become suspicious and there were those whispering that Zorro and him must have been somehow related. Whatever the truth may be, Linares, eventually, considered, Risendo had every right to leave, before he was discovered.


	14. Duel

The very day the Commander received the letter informing him about his friend's decision to resign from his position with the Royal Guardsmen, a rider was roaming the streets of La Latina in search of Doctor Risendo. He was dressed in dark-brown pants and an elegant green coat which, together with his hat, caused him to sweat profusely in the August dry heat.

Every few yards, he would stop to wipe away the salty drops dashing down his face and to ask about the man he was looking for. The neighborhood's narrow, confusing streets and the even more confusing directions he had gotten from those he had asked only ended up delaying his finding the man he was looking for, adding to his frustration.

After several hours of searching in the dry August heat, he finally arrived at his destination. It had taken him months, but he had finally found him. There he was, talking to a white-haired man while feeding two expensive-looking stallions.

"Risendo!" He called out.

Both men startled and looked at him, just as Vanesa was coming out of the house with two glasses of lemonade.

"Father!" She exclaimed at seeing him, the surprise causing her to drop the glasses.

"This low-life got you pregnant?!" Don Gael asked, noticing her rounded belly.

"He's my husband, so I won't have you speak like that of him!" She answered back, feeling her temper rising. It was form her father that she had inherited it, and she knew that very well.

"You married him? Well, daughter, you're about to become a widow!" Don Gael threatened.

In all this time, the two men just stared at them, unable to utter a word.

"En guard, doctor!" The old don uttered, as he got down from his horse, taking out his sword in the middle of the busy street.

"You're not serious, Father!" Vanesa stated, despite knowing fully well that he was. "He's an honorable man, the father of my child! There's no reason for you to fight him!"

"I have not given him permission to marry you. I had other plans for your future than have you married a poor doctor, and you know that! He just came into my house and stole you away! I have more than one reason to kill him!"

"Swords. Tomorrow at dawn. The meadow east of El Retiro." He heard Dario's voice stating as he turned to see the two men exchanging a quick glance.

"So that you'd have the time to escape? The meadow, in two hours. Make your peace with God because today you'll meet Him!" The older man decided, taking a few steps towards Vanesa and grabbing her arm. "And my daughter is coming with me!"

"She'll be going nowhere with you!" The young man replied as he planted himself in front of the pregnant woman.

Don Gael grinned at the opportunity to force him to recant. As one of his hands was still firmly attached to his daughter's arm, the other, clenched into a fist, he directed towards the young man's face. Seconds later, his fist impacted the younger man's firm hand, which folded around it and pushed the don back. Stumbling due to the surprise of that movement, he fell back indignantly, his bottom colliding with the street's stone pavement.

"As I said. She is not going anywhere!" The young man told him, folding his hands across his chest, looking even taller than usual to the old don lying on the ground.

"She will, after you're dead. Two hours, senor! If there's any honor in you, you'll be there!" Don Gael replied as he got up and, throwing his daughter an angry look, remounted and headed towards the tavern where he had been staying for the last couple of days.

"You're not really going to fight him, are you? You… you can't even handle a sword!" Vanesa asked after her father vanished from view, looking intently at her husband.

"No. He's not." The other man answered in turn, a wicked smile on his lips.

ZZZ

Impatient to see if the young man would show up, Don Gael arrived at the established place half an hour before the meeting time, accompanied by the innkeeper where he had been staying.

His family was comfortable but not very wealthy, compared to his friends, and his connections in Madrid were but few. Amongst them, however, was a middle-aged caballero, son of the Count of Rivera and brother to one of Don Jose Cabrillo's most distinguished friends. It had been the man's nephew to whom he had once tried to marry his daughter, Vanesa. Unfortunately, the young man was already courting the sister of one of his friends at the time, so he refused the match.

Don Gael knew he should have written to inform his acquaintance about his arrival in Madrid, but he hadn't had the time. As soon as news arrived that a Doctor Risendo was living there, he packed his things and left, traveling on horseback to cover as many miles as he could, as quickly as possible.

Visiting the Count was his first item of business, as soon as he reached Madrid, but the old man was not receiving visitors and his son was away, due to only return a few days later. Hoping he had arrived already, he even sent him a note informing him about the duel and asking the man to be his second, but his courier returned with the news that the man he was looking for had not yet arrived home.

That was how, he had to resort to asking the innkeeper, who felt more than privileged when he accepted.

At 4:55 PM a carriage with three occupants arrived, and five minutes later, Vanesa's father met with his adversary on the field of honor, his daughter, the white-haired man he had seen with the doctor earlier and his second as the only witnesses to the fight.

Don Gael took position in front of the young man and they both saluted each other, before the duel begun. Unlike his father-in-law, Doctor Risendo was renowned in Tarragona for his refusal to fight, and everyone swore he had no idea how to. Yet there the old don was, losing to that very man who didn't even seem to put much effort in the fight. One more thrust and the sword flew from his hand, his adversary's sword suddenly pointed at his neck.

"You are Vanesa's father, so I will not harm you." The young man stated, as a carriage was making its way towards them. "But you will never challenge me again, nor will you try to take her back."

"No! You kill me now, or I will follow you to the ends of the Earth, Risendo! You stole my daughter, and you'll pay for that!"

The carriage came to a stop next to them as a man in his late forties jumped out of it to approach the group.

"My apologizes for being late, but I just returned." He interrupted at seeing his acquaintance at the end of a very sharp Toledo-steel blade.

Only the witnesses granted him any attention as he neared the combatants, fearing he was about to witness Don Gael being killed.

"Vanesa has made her decision. You were defeated in a fair fight. How about you do the smart thing and return to Tarragona, never to bother us again." The young man insisted, only now noticing who it was standing just a couple of feet away from him.

"Good God. It can't be! Diego?" His Uncle Juan Carlos asked, tears in his eyes.

Diego considered how to play this. After Gilberto had died, he had written him, informing that he had a twin brother stolen by the midwife, a certain Ynez Risendo. Considering that, he had several options, but also consequences to consider. Before he made up his mind, though, the young woman his brother had married, made the decision for him.

"You are mistaken, senor!" Vanesa replied convincingly. "My husband's name is Dario Risendo."

"Risendo?" Juan Carlos repeated, his eyes growing wide. "You are the child Ynez Risendo had stolen?"

This time, the young caballero knew there was only one card to be played and the look on Don Gael's face assured him it was the right one.

"How do you know about that, Senor? I only found out myself a few months ago." He asked, pretending to be confused about the statement.

"You… You must be my real nephew! I knew when Diego wrote me that his own brother could not have been corrupted by that woman! You are a De la Vega! I am your uncle!"

"Uncle? You're this man's uncle?" Don Gael asked, confused.

"I… I believe I am… It can actually be proved…"

"By my birthmark? A reddish cross near my right knee?"

"Yes! Yes! Oh, God! It is you! You are my nephew. You are Alejandro's true son!" Juan Carlos exclaimed, his voice trembling. "It's a long story! He's been lost to my family for years." He turned to explain to Don Gael. "But now I've found him! My father will be so happy… especially… especially since news just arrive that your brother…"

"If you are my uncle" Diego interrupted, knowing full well what he was about to say "and you know this man, would you care to convince him it is foolish to spend his life trying to ruin his daughter's, by attempting to kill her husband?"

"Husband? Daughter? My nephew is the one you accused of having stolen your daughter?"

"He didn't steal me! It was my decision to marry Dario!" Vanesa protested.

"I… I didn't know he was your nephew." Don Gael seemed to suddenly repent his actions. "I thought he was just some penniless doctor. That certainly changes things! If I knew, I would have granted you permission to openly court Vanesa, Senor!"

"Yes… Well, since what's done is done, all I ask is for you to stop trying to separate us." Diego replied, finally putting away his sword. The light reflecting on its steel captured Juan Carlos' attention, his jaw dropping at seeing it in its full splendor.

"I will! If you are a De la Vega, I certainly will! In fact, she was supposed to marry your brother some ten years ago, but he refused the match." The old don mentioned, turning to head towards his daughter, as Diego's eyebrows raised and a grin reappeared on his face at looking back towards his baffled companions.

"If you are not Diego" his uncle whispered when he was sure Don Gael could not overhear them "why do you have the sword Sir Kendall gave him?"

"Stick to the story and I will explain… Uncle Juan Carlos." He answered with sly grin, as the older man suddenly found it hard to contain his tears at realizing the nephew he had just found out to be dead was, in reality, alive and well, standing beside him.

"You must come home with me! Father needs to see you." The uncle urged him. "And my wife… she wouldn't stop crying since an hour ago, when we arrived and were told that you had died."

"Let us finish here, and the three of us will accompany you." He promised.

"I'm sorry, Daughter. I see your instinct was much better than I ever gave you credit for! Your mother will be glad to hear you married one of the Count's grandsons, after all!" Don Gael stated, looking apologetically towards Vanesa.

"I told you he was the man for me!" She replied confidently.

The old don smiled and turned towards Diego. "I only met your father once, briefly, Doctor. But he made a very good impression on me. I understand he is very prosperous."

"I wouldn't really know all that, would I? Considering that I have lived most my life under a name that wasn't even mine." He replied. "For which reason, since today's turn of events provided me with the opportunity to meet my real family, I'd like to do just that, if you don't mind. But, if you'll tell us where you are staying while in Madrid, Vanesa and I will come to visit you, tomorrow."

"That would be good. It's Taverna Alberto, in Barrio de Las Letras. Till tomorrow, Daughter! Don Dario! Don Juan Carlos!" He greeted as he mounted and left, the confused innkeeper following him closely.

"Care to explain now?" Juan Carlos asked Diego.

"Not here. At the house." Diego stated in a commanding tone, as he made a sign for his companions to head for their carriage and, together, following his uncle's coach, they made their way towards for his grandfather's house.


	15. Family

Juan Carlos' coach driver led them around the park and towards a wide road guarded by old, brick houses, then stopped in front of a three-story one from which two servants instantly emerged. Leaving their horses and carriage in their care, Diego, Vanesa and the white-haired man followed Juan Carlos to the parlor, where his wife was crying her heart out, holding a letter in her right hand and a napkin in the other.

"As I said, the news of your death hit her quite hard." The older man whispered to his nephew as soon as they came in, looking confused towards the other two and trying to make sense of Diego's impolite omission to properly introduce them to him.

"Can you arrange for us not to be disturbed by the servants?" Diego gently inquired, looking at the weeping woman. "I'll talk to Aunt Carolina. And, perhaps, you can also bring Grandfather here."

His uncle nodded and exited the room as his wife was making an effort to wipe her tears away and be polite with the unexpected guests.

"I'm sorry, Senores!" She stated. "I just received an awful news and I'm afraid I am in no condition…I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude…" she babbled, making an effort to look at the man who was already kneeling next to the armchair she was occupying. "I…"she tried to say as she started to recognize the man "I…"

"I'm sorry to have worried you, Aunt!" He apologize with a sad smile.

"Diego? Is that really you?" She asked. "But… But… the letter…and Father… he said you had come to him as a ghost."

"I'm no ghost, Aunt! I didn't die. I… It's a long story and I will tell it to you, as soon as Grandfather gets here."

If Diego had thought that his words would calm the sobbing woman, he realized just a few seconds later that he was utterly wrong. Instead of stop crying, she started wailing harder as she threw her arms around his neck and kneeled down next to him.

She was but ten years his elder but had always considered Diego a surrogate son, always wishing that she might one day have a child just like him.

A few minutes later, Don Emmanuel Felipe de Lara, Conde de Rivera, entered the room accompanied by his son, just as Dona Carolina was reluctantly letting go of her nephew. The old man passed by Vanesa and their white-haired guest, and headed, trembling, towards Diego. His grandson turned around and rose to his feet to greet him.

"You are not a ghost?" The old man asked.

"No, Grandfather!"

"But… But I saw you in the park."

"I came to visit and you assum…"

He was interrupted as the old man threw himself into his arms, and he returned the embrace.

"I thought I told you to shave your beard!" The old man admonished as a couple of minutes later, he eased the embrace just enough to be able to study his grandson's face.

"Are the servants dismissed?" Diego asked his uncle who confirmed with a nod. "Good." He then stated as he took off the false beard, to revert to the look he wore for over a decade.

"Can you now explain what's going on, Diego? And this young lady? Is she really your wife?" His uncle asked.

"No. She's my sister-in-law." He replied. "Grandfather, Aunt Carolina, Uncle Juan Carlos, my I introduce my real twin brother, Dario de la Vega, and his wife, Vanesa de la Vega?"

As Diego said that, they all turned wide-opened eyes towards the couple still standing near the doorway. Without a word, the white-haired man took off his wig and false white beard and mustache to reveal a face almost identical to Diego's.

"What?" The three uttered at the same time as the grandfather, his left hand still clutching the man next to him, headed towards Dario and Vanesa, dragging him along. "I have another grandson?" He asked, his right hand on Dario's jaw to make sure he was real.

"You do, Grandfather." Diego confirmed.

"But… Alejandro said you were dead! And you wrote to us about your brother's death. How is this even possible?" His uncle asked as the grandfather had passed to lovingly look at his grandson's pregnant wife, only now releasing his grip on Diego's arm.

"I faked my death when I left California so, for all Father knows, I am dead." The young caballero stated, folding his hands across his chest. "As for Dario, he and I were reunited by a strange twist of fate, just a few days ago."

"I was raised as Dario Risendo by Ynez's sister, Beatriz. I had no idea who I was until I met him." Dario confirmed.

"But… I still don't understand! Why fake your death, and why all these disguises, and why did you duel with Don Gael as Dario?" His uncle insisted.

"Duel? Diego?" His concerned aunt asked.

"Don Gael is, as you already know, Vanesa's father. He did not agree to their marriage and they had to elope. It was only today that he found them and, as he did, he challenged Dario to a duel. Since he's no swordsman and I am, and considering we look almost identical…"

"Were it not for the mole on Dario's left cheek…" Vanesa intervened.

"Yes… well, as I said… I thought it prudent to take his place." Diego continued.

"But Don Gael is famous for being one of the best swordsmen in Catalunya! He could have killed you!" Dona Carolina panicked retrospectively.

"I'm not that easy to kill, aunt. Certainly not when it comes to sword fights!" Diego assured her.

"Sword fights? Diego, I'd really rather you started to make sense soon!" Juan Carlos asked. "I know you were a great swordsman, since you trained with Kendall. You did show me that sword before you returned to California. But you always told me how you never wanted to fight! And… And Alejandro has mentioned many times how you refused to even pick up a sword, unlike that masked hero of yours… Dios mio!" Juan Carlos had a revelation. "No… It can't be… He's just been executed."

"Zorro?" Diego asked him, and his uncle suddenly raised his head to stare at him. "He should have been executed. And he was, as far as the King knows."

"And… What doesn't the King know?" The older man asked in a trembling voice.

"What Ferdinand doesn't know is that the man who had finally captured Zorro, after pursuing him for almost four years, ended up sacrificing his life to save his."

"So, he's alive." Juan Carlos concluded.

"Alive and standing before you." Diego revealed to him.

"What?" His aunt exclaimed, rather than asked. "You are Zorro, Diego? But… How? And you…You were sentenced to die? The King tried to execute you?"

"He did. It's why I faked my death in California. I knew what awaited me once Ferdinand had me in his clutches, and I didn't want Father to know the truth. I didn't want any of you to know. For that reason, knowing I was about to die, I led Grandfather to believe I was already a ghost when I met him, in the park, as few days ago. Strange as it may be, however, had the King not sentenced me, I would have probably never met Dario."

"What's that supposed to mean? The King didn't try to also kill you, did he?" Juan Carlos asked his newly-found nephew.

"No. Although, I do expect he would have, in a few months, given the chance. I was the prison's doctor. I was sent to treat his wounds… " Dario explained.

"Wounds?" His grandfather asked as the real situation of his grandson dawned on him.

"He had him fight twenty of the Royal Guardsmen to prove he was Zorro." Dario stated. "Frankly, I'm amazed he's only gotten a few scratches on him."

"And I'm lucky you convinced me to let you treat them." Diego stated, gratefully. "I gave the King a false name, so that my deeds would never be associated with you and my father. Except for my adopted son, Felipe, all the other people who know the truth are in this room, so, for the time being, there should be no more danger to our family. However… I do need to return to Los Angeles. I'll do so under a disguise, but I need to go back!"

"And I need to go meet my father." Dario stated, and Diego looked at him with a smile. "If there's anyone who can protect my wife and I on the way, that's my brother." He continued, exchanging a conspiratorial glance with his wife.

The three older people in the room exchanged a meaningful gaze as they realized they were saying both 'hello' and 'goodbye' to the three younger ones, at the same time.

"Can you also protect an old man who has no intention of dying thousands of miles away from his grandchildren, if he can prevent it?" His grandfather decided, rather than asked Diego.

"That's far too strenuous a journey, Grandfather." The young caballero answered. "And we don't know what awaits us once we arrive at our destination!"

"I don't care, Diego! When I though you dead, I wanted to die, as well. Besides, I am stronger than you give me credit for! How could I not be, now that I know you are alive, and that I have another grandson, as well as a granddaughter and a great-grandson on the way?"

"But how about me, Father? And Carolina? You'd just abandon us?" Juan Carlos tried to make him see reason.

"Abandon you? I was with you your entire life, son. At some point we are meant to part, anyway! But, as far as I am concerned, the two of you should come with us. A change of air might do you good, and this house… This house has too many ghosts in it!"

"But, Father, it's been in our family for centuries!"

"Yes… And for centuries our family diminished. My siblings are dead, as are two of my children. Why would I stay here anymore? How could I, after the King I supported during the war with France tried to execute my grandchild?"

"He did not sentence Diego de la Vega, but Salvador Gilarranz, which was the name I gave him instead of my own!" The young caballero tried to explain the difference to him.

"And why was that? Why did you not dare give him your true name? You've always taken pride in being a De la Vega and my grandson! I know you must be proud of being Zorro! Even here you are considered a Legend!"

Diego did not answer.

"He feared what the King would do to his family. To his son, our father, and to all of you." Dario answered for him. "He told me as much when he thought he was about to be ripped to pieces."

The stern look on his old father's face told Juan Carlos there was no use arguing with him. Still, he made one more try.

"How about Álvaro, Father?" He asked, hoping the thought of his brother might change his mind.

"Álvaro? Have you seen him recently? Heard from him in the last couple of years? I haven't! And don't you even dare mention Antonio! Like it or not, Son, I'd rather spend the remainder of my life with these three young people, than waiting to see if my other sons remember I am still alive! I'm just sorry I haven't gone to California sooner. When Elena left with Alejandro... That's when your mother and I should have gone!"

"Diego, say something!" Juan Carlos asked him.

The younger man was too consternated to think of what he should say to change his grandfather's mind. It was not often that he was at a lack for words but then, there were not many men like the Count. He, thus, tried his best, but all he came up with was "There was a storm when I came here. The ship almost sunk. If you come and that happens, I cannot save all of you, Grandfather. Zorro may be a Legend but I am just a man."

"You're forgetting I was a Captain in the Spanish Navy for over ten years, Diego! No storm is claiming a boat I am on! In fact, I think you'd be safer if I go with you!" The old man informed them.

Nobody uttered a word for a minute, as Diego and his uncle just stared at each other, feeling disarmed.

"Oh, I know the journey is long, Diego. If I die, just throw me overboard! I always wanted to be buried at sea! And if I don't, I would certainly not mind seeing your father again! He's always been more of a son to me than two of those I actually have!"


	16. The Veiled Truth

"The ship leaves in five hours, Nephew!" Juan Carlos told Diego. "If you don't get back by then…"

"We'll be there on time, Uncle. If we won't, I'm certain Grandfather will make sure to delay the departure." He answered with a broad smile.

A few minutes later, with Dario on the white stallion, Diego on the dark-brown one, the two brothers made their way towards the town's prison and, from there, to a narrow street behind it.

They stopped for a few moments before the house in which the former Alcalde of Los Angeles had grown up, then headed towards the house of his cousin. The children were, just like the last time, playing in front of the house. This time, however, they were doing it under the caring supervision of their parents.

"Senores De Soto?" Diego asked, just as he was dismounting.

Both grown-ups and the children looked at them inquisitively.

"You're Don Ignacio's friend!" The woman remarked after staring a few moments at him.

Diego nodded with a melancholic smile on his lips. "I believe I was…" He uttered. "This is my brother." He introduced the other caballero without giving any name. "Ignacio, I'm afraid, has passed away since our last encounter." He continued explaining to the two people's growing shock. "As per his last wishes, we have brought his body from the Capital and made the necessary arrangements for him to be buried next to his family, in the cemetery here. The ceremony is due to take place in two hours.

"Also, we came to leave you the deeds to his parent's house and the proceedings from the sale of his apartment and other possessions in Madrid." As he said that, he handed them the saddlebags on the white horse, both of which contained in total, a little less than 12,000 pesos and the papers granting them Ignacio's childhood home. "The two horses we are riding were also Ignacio's, and he left them to you, as well."

The two people just looked at him, fearing it was just a dream. "He left us everything?"

"Almost everything. There was also a sum of money he had left to be returned to the People of Los Angeles. But he had decided that, since you were the ones to care for his mother and grandmother for so many years, this money and the deeds were the least he owed you." Diego confirmed.

"How… how did he die?" Ignacio's cousin asked. "My wife said he was in good health when he came by."

"He died saving my life, Senor. Mine and, most probably, many others." He answered, remembering the letter De Soto had left for him.

After what had happened the morning he had taken Zorro to the King, the man had had more than one revelation. Among them, that Ferdinand would, most probably, have executed the soldiers who would have allowed Zorro's escape, should that have happened. It ended up being the main reason why he had taken the poison. He had convinced Diego to change places with him, stating that he had every confidence that, within the two hours still remaining till the execution, he would come up with a plan to save him, and the caballero had every intention of doing so.

However, even as he was arguing his case, Ignacio de Soto knew very well he was lying.

True, he sacrificed himself for Diego, but, in his mind, he also gave his life for all his fellow soldiers who would have met their end, should he had acted differently on his instinct to save the one man who had never given up on him. They would forever be ignorant of his sacrifice, but that idea never stopped his schoolmate from doing the right thing, and was not going to stop him now.

ZZZ

Leaving the two puzzled people to inform the rest of the remaining De Sotos and their acquaintances, the tall caballeros headed on foot towards the cemetery for the last preparations, then attended, together with Ignacio's relatives, the burial ceremony. Considering the circumstances of his death and the distance between Madrid and Cadiz, Diego had arranged for his friend's remains to be laid at rest inside a sealed metal coffin he had purposely ordered while in the Spanish Capital, the same day of the execution. It was much heavier than a normal, wooden one, and it took ten people to lay it in the tomb, but all he knew was that he had fulfilled Ignacio's wishes as best he could.

The two brothers got onboard the Ulises, a commercial ship, due to take them around Cape Horn towards California, just as the captain and the crew were making the final preparations to weigh anchor.

Looking at his family members, Diego could hardly stop himself from smiling. It was hard even for him to understand all the strange events of the last months. Most of all, it was baffling to even consider the amazing the twists of fate he had experienced.

He had been trapped, desperate, alone in the hands of an enemy, forced to forever abandon those he loved, just to face an excruciating death, at the hands of a man who never cared about his own people.

Yet, there he was now, alive, free, surrounded by family, heading home to his father, to Felipe and, most importantly, to Victoria. He had no idea what he would find when he'd get there. Worst even, he had no idea what he would do when he'd arrive. How would he explain everything? For some reason, though, it didn't even matter. One way or another, even if he had to swim the entire ocean, he was going home. And no storm, no sea creatures, no pirates or bandits, no kings or alcaldes would stop him.

ZZZ

Montalvo only started going against the haciendados when, six months after his arrival in Los Angeles, Ana-Cristina Feliz, daughter of Don Mateo, one of the richest caballeros in the territory, refused his courtship. He had made sure, by then, to gather a small fortune worth about a tenth of the Feliz estate; but the young woman had not denied his request due to his smaller fortune. Nor were his looks, since he was young and rather handsome. In fact, the main reason for her refusal was the repulsiveness she felt for him ever since she found out about the summary execution of those two innocent farmers.

Unfortunately for the young woman, though, Montalvo was more than a little infatuated with her, and so, he could hardly take that refusal lightly.

Still sticking to his good-natured-man act, the cunning Alcalde made sure to let everyone who cared know that he was not taking her refusal personally, and was even considering some other senoritas to court. A few weeks later, though, he struck a deal with one of Don Mateo's servants, having the man plant incriminating evidence in the don's hacienda.

It was the end of September, and everyone was occupied with the harvest, thus the house was mostly empty. The man carefully made his way towards his masters' quarters and left a list of names and several other papers detailing a rather badly-thought-out strategy to take over the pueblo, under the bed's mattress.

The following day, a child was paid to deliver an anonymous letter for the Alcalde, and Sepulveda took it to his superior officer.

Two hours later, most of the lancers and their commander descended on the Feliz Hacienda in search of proof of a conspiracy being planned there. Montalvo, of course, assured the haciendado that he was just doing his duty and was convinced no such evidence existed, playing the role of the good Alcalde to perfection. However, when, after just one hour of searches, the lancers had gathered what Montalvo deemed as 'enough proof to have the don executed as a traitor', he ordered his arrest.

"Victoria!" Don Alejandro called later that afternoon, at entering the hacienda, after having just received the news. "Have you heard?" He asked, at finding her still making her best effort to learn how to knit in the library, Felipe reading a book by her side.

"Heard what?" She asked raising her head to look at him.

"Montalvo! He arrested Mateo Feliz, claiming he's a traitor!"

Felipe's eyes grew wide, listening in to what his grandfather recounted about the most recent events shocking the town.

"A traitor? Don Mateo? It can't be!"

"Yes, Victoria! He received an anonymous letter letting him know that there is evidence at the hacienda, and he and his lancers descended on the place like vultures! Sepulveda said that it took them but an hour to find all they needed to have him sentenced to death!"

"He'll execute him?" The taverness questioned after the old don finished his story.

"I fear he just might, my dear! I just can't understand! The soldiers said they found concrete evidence of a conspiracy. Why would my friend get himself involved in something like that?"

While the two were trying to make sense of what was going on, it was not hard for the young man raised by Zorro to understand exactly what happened and why. In fact, his mind was already going through possible solutions to Don Mateo's problem.

Felipe was fairly sure that the Captain was perfectly capable of ordering the execution, which also provided him with the opportunity to confiscate the don's properties. His one question was, however, whether Montalvo still wanted to push Ana-Cristina to accept him as her husband – which was what he suspected - or he had already decided to destroy her entire family by having her father executed and the young woman and her mother thrown out on the streets.

As he expected, the Alcalde was 'generous enough' to let the two women live in their hacienda and made no move to confiscate their possessions, even promising the don a fair trial.

The entire week following the arrest, the other dons, at Don Alejandro's initiative, tried to intervene in favor of their friend, doing their best to convince the Alcalde to let him out on bail. Montalvo even seemed to be slowly giving up under pressure, the dons becoming convinced that he'd soon decide to release their friend. However, when he tried to insinuate, once again, the possibility of a courtship and Ana-Cristina, naively denied, again, his advances, that fleeting chance that her father might go free evaporated.

Thus, after the Alcalde paid the same rogue servant to help his master escape from prison and hide him, making sure to also leave some evidence of his passing through his hacienda, Montalvo arrested the don's wife and daughter as his accomplices.

Unwilling to risk the lives of the two women he loved, Don Mateo gave himself up, offering his confession in exchange for their freedom.

The Alcalde agreed but, as soon as the confession was written and signed, he recanted on his word, offering, however, Ana-Cristina her own life and that of her mother, should she agree to marry him. As the entire plot became obvious to the young woman, she painfully realized that it was, already, too late for her father. So, after another night in jail, prey to desperation, she decided to, at least, save her mother, thus accepting his proposal.

That same day she and her mother were allowed to return to their hacienda, Felipe put his plan into motion.

He waited for the night to fall and, on a disguised Tornado, dressed in his darkest servant clothes, a black-painted carnival mask covering almost his entire face, he headed to the back of the prison. There, using several small stones, he woke up the caballero, shushing him in order not to be overheard by the guards positioned around the perimeter.

Don Mateo rose from his bed to find the strange figure standing outside the barred window.

"If you are here to help me escape, don't bother!" He asked the man.

Felipe just shook his head as a 'No' and gave him a package including a long note, a glass vial with a strange liquid inside, what looked like a modified thin leather flask and a big, thin metal plaque.

"What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Die." The young man whispered. "Read!" He then proceeded to indicate, pointing towards the letter.

Felipe had not regained his voice but the idea came to him that, even without being able to make a sound, all he needed to whisper short words was a tongue, and that he most certainly had.

The don took the paper and, holding it so that the dim moonlight would allow him to see the words, he made an effort to read it.

"You can fake my death?" He asked his nocturnal visitor after he had finished.

Felipe just nodded.

The don read the note again as a smile crept on his face, only to disappear just as soon as it appeared.

"How do I know this is not another of the Alcalde's plots? No…I can't risk it! My wife and my daughter are too important. I'd rather die than let anything happen to them."

The young man was becoming restless, considering he didn't have much time and already risked being discovered. However, he understood the don's perspective so, without any fuss, he took off his mask to reveal his face.

"Don Felipe?" The man asked, consternated. "But…You are deaf! And mute!"

"No talk. I hear." His interlocutor whispered back. "I can help. Do as I say!"

Don Mateo nodded open-mouthed and watched the young man disappear behind the corner of the prison's courtyard.

The next afternoon, the entire pueblo gathered to witness the execution of Don Mateo Feliz. As a favor to his fiancée, the Alcalde had already decided to offer her father a quick and dignified death by firing squad.

The lancers took position in front of the prisoner, while the two women the condemned man loved stood sobbing, watching from the front of the crowd. Then, the soldiers pointed their muskets and discharged them when the Alcalde ordered them to "Fire!" and the don fell, belly-first, on the ground, as a puddle of blood formed beneath him. Doctor Hernandez was called to confirm the death, and he did so without hesitation.

Nobody, neither the soldiers nor the other people present, heard the separate gunshot coming from the roof of the tavern, nor did they notice that only one bullet made its way through the don's shirt. He was inert and already declared dead, so details didn't matter much, anyway.

Because the crying women were unable to perform the task, it was the doctor and Felipe de la Vega who volunteered to prepare the corpse for the burial, and the padre performed the ceremony but three hours later.

For all everyone knew, eight months after Zorro's disappearance and two months after Mexico had declared its independence (a fact they were not yet aware of), Don Mateo was, thus, executed for treason against the Spanish King, and his daughter became betrothed to the man who had ordered his execution. Ana-Cristina's only consolation was the fact that the mourning period pushed the marriage back several months, enough time, she hoped, for her father's friends to come up with a plan to help her.

ZZZ

"You are a brave and bright young man, Felipe!" Doctor Hernandez remarked, as they were alone in the cemetery, at night, several hours after the funeral.

The young man smiled shyly.

"I mean it! Your father would be proud of you!" He added, as the young don made a wondering face. "I'm not stupid, young man! Diego is not in that grave, is he?" He asked, pointing towards a tombstone Don Alejandro had ordered made in the memory of his last remaining son.

Felipe looked at him and shook his head as his face turned immensely sad.

"I thought so! Is he coming back?"

The mute don shrugged his shoulders, looking as if he was on the brink of crying.

"De Soto found him out, didn't he?" The nod the doctor received as an answer was not even necessary.

"Let's not lose hope! If there's a way for him to return, he will, undoubtedly, find it. And don't worry; I am perfectly able to keep other people's secrets." He eventually stated as the two took to shoveling.

While he was establishing the details of his rescue plan, Felipe had soon discovered that one more person was needed for it to be successful. In this particular case, that one person was the pueblo's doctor. Therefore, after much consideration, he decided to share his plan with him and ask for his help.

The old man read Felipe's written explanation of it, analyzed the poison he wanted to use, tested it, and, as he reached the conclusion that the plan had a good chance to work, he started asking himself several questions. Those questions, and a few others he had dismissed months earlier, led him to the conclusion that the young man had not developed a skill for clever plots all of a sudden, but had been trained by the best.

That was how Doctor Hernandez realized that nobody in the pueblo, except for Felipe, had any idea resembling the truth as to what had truly happened all those months before, when Don Diego de la Vega was buried and their hero was captured by their former Alcalde. He, thus, kept his hope that, one day, he might again see both men who were, in fact, one.


	17. New Life

"Yes! This is it men! This will be our hunting ground from now on! No vessel will escape without paying its toll!" The brown-bearded man with a Napoleonic hat stated, proudly looking towards the open sea before them. "The Peruvian coast! This is where we were supposed to come from the beginning!"

"I bet there are many treasures here to be found! Who knows how many Spanish ships sunk, leaving piles of gold at the bottom of the sea?" A tall, bald man uttered.

"Captain!" A man yelled from the crow's nest. "Ship some ten miles to our stern! Heading straight towards us!"

"Flag?"

"Spanish!"

"What did I just tell you?" The captain asked with a laugh. "Mates, turn the ship around, and let's give them a proper welcome!"

The crew did as instructed and, just a few minutes later, the ship was setting course to intercept the larger, Spanish vessel.

"Can you see its name?" The Captain asked the man in the crow's nest.

The man pointed his spying glass and did his best to read "Uli… Ulises." He decided.

"Ulises? What stupid name is that? Anybody knows what kind of vessel it is? If it's transporting gold…"

"I think it's a merchant ship, Captain." One of his men replied. "Armed, too, as far as I know."

"That just makes it slow!" The bearded man answered with arrogance. "They won't be able to escape our clutches. We'll have a fun day, mates!"

The pirates cheered and some started to sharpen their cutlasses, as others were priming their pistols while the two ships were set on a collision course.

"Captain!" The barrel man suddenly yelled in panic, just as the two vessels were closing in on each other. "It's him!"

"Who?" Captain Stark asked as he took his own spying glass to try and see who his man was referring to.

Raising it to his eyes, he adjusted it to the distance and began scanning the deck of what he already considered his pray.

"Oh, Lord! He's doubled!" The man yelled even more distressed from atop the ship's main mast.

It was then that the Captain saw them: two Zorros, dressed for battle, one of them holding his own spyglass directed at him and saluting with his Toledo-steel sword.

"Change course! Hurry!" Stark yelled and his sailors obeyed, but it wasn't fast enough.

The two ships passed only ten yards from one another as the pirate ship turned to its starboard in an effort to make a quick escape.

"Stark! Where are you going in such a hurry? When we saw you heading towards us, I thought you were eager to meet!" Diego shouted from the bow of the Ulises.

"Why won't you leave us alone?" Stark shouted back. "We're just trying to make an honest living for ourselves!"

"Honest? You might want to look up the definition for that word!" Diego replied.

"We'll never attack another ship again! I promise! Just stop coming after us! And stop multiplying!" Stark yelled back just as the distance between the two ships was making it impossible for the other man to hear him.

"Captain! If we don't plunder other ships, what are we supposed to do with ourselves?" One of his men asked as they were finally breathing relieved, realizing that Zorro had granted them the chance to fulfill their promise and was not following them.

"I… I don't know…" Captain Stark answered. "Perhaps we should start a trading company." He suggested.

"With only one ship? While the Spanish have put a price on all of our heads?"

"Who cares about the Spanish? The countries in South America are, one by one, declaring their independence. We don't have a price on our heads here, as long as we don't plunder their ships!" The pirate captain answered, firmly determined, this time, to change his life.

ZZZ

"Once again we are in your debt, Don Diego!" Captain Sotomayor remarked with a sly grin at watching the pirate vessel sail west. "And in yours, Don Dario!".

Since Nova Espana had sunk one night, in the Port of Cadiz, as a result of another vessel sailing straight into it by mistake, the captain and the crew, most of whom were on land when the accident had happened, had moved on to the Ulises. The much faster and larger vessel, had the sole purpose of taking goods and passengers between Spain and the Colonies, its final destination being San Francisco.

Without knowing that the same people sailing the Ulises had accompanied his nephew when he came to Spain, Juan Carlos bought the tickets for the entire family for that same ship, giving all their real names for the captain's ledger. Of course, the men were more than a little surprised to see the twin brothers as they climbed onboard, especially since they had only brought one and the news of the masked outlaw's demise at the King's hand had arrived in Cadiz a few weeks before the De Laras and the De la Vegas.

Under those circumstances, Diego had no choice but to recount for the baffled Captain and his crew how De Soto had given his life to save him, and how the entire ordeal had resulted in him finding his long-lost twin brother, as well as a sister-in-law and a soon-to-be-born nephew or niece.

The crewmen all said a prayer for De Soto and regretted not having behaved more kindly towards him.

Crossing the Atlantic, the winds were strong in their sails and the sea calm, the Count being given his due credit for the great time they were making, as well as for the good weather. Not even the treacherous waters around the Horn posed much trouble for the experienced crew and the solid vessel. By the time they caught up to Stark's crew, they were in the third month of their voyage and Vanesa was only weeks away from giving birth. At that point, the main concern of the family had suddenly become choosing the right name for Dario's firstborn.

"Beatriz if she's a girl!" He decided one evening, as they were all gathered in the large cabin in which they took their meals, waiting for the Captain to join them.

"You could also name her after her loving aunt!" Juan Carlos' wife suggested.

"Beatriz Carolina de la Vega." He considered.

"Beatriz Elena Carolina de la Vega sounds better." Diego pointed out, earning a frown from his aunt. "Both our mother and our grandmother on her side were Elenas."

"Won't you want to name your daughter Elena, Diego? After all, between the two of us, it was only you who have actually even met our real mother. Beatriz was mine for all I knew while she was alive."

"I'm sure we can have more than one Elena in the household, Dario!" Diego replied. "And you are the firstborn, so you have every right to the name."

"I already told you, brother! I doubt anything Ynez Risendo ever said to you and our father is true. We are twins. Who cares which one saw the light of day first?" He replied. "All I want is a family and my real name."

Diego smiled lovingly at him. How different his true brother was from Gilberto Risendo! There was not a day he wouldn't wake up happy at the prospect of seeing him. They both shared an interest in medicine and architecture, two subjects on which Dario knew a little more than Diego but the latter was more than happy to close the gap by learning all he could, just as he was eager to share his knowledge of Indian remedies. In turn, his brother was more than glad to teach him what he had learnt in University and in his years of practice, just as he was enthusiastic about learning all the many other things Diego was knowledgeable about.

Perhaps, had they grown up together, their relationship would have been different. As most siblings, they might have thought of each other as rivals for their parents' affections. But the two of them had been separated for over thirty years and, when given the chance, all they truly wanted was to make up for the lost time.

True, they spent much of their days on the ship with the other members of their family, as well as, mainly in Diego's case, with the Captain and the crew members, since they were the only passengers onboard the ship. However, every evening, while everyone else was in the Captain's quarters playing whist, they would go out on the deck together and just learn to be brothers.

As they realized just how much like each other they were, the two of them found that they could share even more of themselves with the other than they had ever shared with anyone else. That was how, in those four months since they had finally met, Dario had learned everything about their parents, about his brother's childhood, his years in Madrid, Felipe, Victoria, Los Angeles, Zorro, his dreams and ideals, fears and regrets while, at the same time, he shared with Diego similarly intimate memories and thoughts.

"What if it's a boy?" Vanesa drew Diego's thoughts back to the present conversation.

"You could call him Emmanuel, like Grandfather." Diego suggested, looking at the old man who was dozing in a nearby chair. "Or… Alejandro, after our Father… " Diego suggested.

"How about Diego?" Juan Carlos asked. He and his wife had long decided that, should they have a baby boy, which was, at their ages, a rather remote possibility, they would give him the same name as the nephew the two of them loved like a son.

"I like that!" Vanesa replied. "Diego Emmanuel de la Vega. Named for two extraordinary men."

"But wouldn't you rather name him after Dario? And if it's a girl, after yourself?" Diego asked his sister-in-law.

"You can name one of your sons after me!" His brother decided. "But Vanesa is right! I'd be honored for my son to bear the true name of a Legend and there should be at least one Diego in every generation of De la Vegas."

"Well… First of all, the honor would be mine. And second of all, if I ever do have a son, I will most certainly name him Dario!" Diego answered with a broad grin.

"We have it, then?" Vanesa asked. "Beatriz Elena Carolina if it's a girl and Diego Emmanuel if it's a boy?"

"I think we have an agreement, My Beloved Wife!" Dario uttered with a smile everyone shared, just as his grandfather woke up.

"What agreement?" He asked, only hearing the last part of the conversation.

"For our baby's name, Grandfather." His long-lost-recently-found grandson answered. "We have decided for Beatriz Elena Carolina if it's a girl and Diego Emmanuel if it's a boy. What do you think?"

"I think… I think I'm going to love that child, no matter how you call it. But I also approve of your choices!" The old nobleman answered.

ZZZ

Victoria entered into labor on a Tuesday morning, about two weeks before her due date.

Up until that afternoon, it had been an ordinary day. In fact, she had been feeling better than she had felt during the whole previous month, so she decided it was her opportunity to go to the tavern, to see for herself how Mendoza and Pilar were handling the work and to check the register. Don Alejandro, Felipe, as well as one of Don Alejandro's servants had accompanied her. The servant was there just to drive the carriage and to help should his aid be needed, Felipe wanted to silently listen in to the latest gossip and his grandfather to take the opportunity to discuss with a friend of his who had a particularly strange streak of bad luck lately.

That friend of his wasn't the only one, though. In fact, as Felipe had easily noticed, several of the haciendados without direct heirs had had a similar streak of bad luck, which had, by no means, been accidental.

His grandfather had done his part openly in helping them and his support hindered, quite significantly, Montalvo's plans. The young don, too, working in the shadows, had done his best to be of service.

When Don Esteban's cattle started getting sick and his crops begun to fail, Felipe analyzed the water in his stream and left a message to warn the don that it had been poisoned. This simple action, which began a whispered rumor that Los Angeles might have lost a Fox but seemed to have gotten a guardian angel in exchange, saved most of the don's animals, although it could not save his crops.

It was still a lot, and Felipe knew he did the best he could. He continued his campaign to silently fight the evil of the Alcalde by discovering a long trench on Don Ponce's land and planting long sticks in it so that the Don's men would see it. The Sergeant's loyal men had dug it and covered it, planning to injure and kill several of the haciendado's prize horses, which were to be led through that area on their way towards fresh pastures.

Delighted that his efforts had completely prevented any horse from being injured, Felipe continued to help in a similar, anonymous manner, some farmers who had been caught up in Montalvo's plans for the haciendados he had been targeting.

However, for every good deed he had done, there were others he failed to do. He only operated at night, hidden in the darkness, making every effort not to be uncovered, the Doctor as his only occasional help. Just as Diego, he had decided not to involve others in his clandestine activities and continued the tradition of leaving both Don Alejandro and Victoria in the dark about them. On the one hand, he did that expressly because the taverness was pregnant with his father's child. Involving her and his grandfather, who was supposed to take care of the young woman and her baby who was, after all, his real descendant, was much too risky in Felipe's opinion. On the other hand, he feared that, just like the doctor, if they were to find out what he was doing, they might come to learn about what his father had been doing for the last decade. That information, however, was not one Diego wanted to share with them, and his adopted son was very certain of that.

The main problem with unshared secrets was, however, that Don Alejandro had started to rely more and more on him in the affairs of the hacienda, so he had less and less opportunities to go to the pueblo and find the news in time to act.

Felipe had, once, considered enlisting Don Mateo's help. But the man, who was alive and well, had spent the weeks since his so-called execution with some relatives in Santa Barbara, and Felipe thought it better for him to remain there, at least for the time being.

With little support and limited information, Zorro's right-hand man had, thus, failed to help Don Lucas Muñoz and Don Baltasar Castro when the new Sergeant and two of his faithful men, dressed as bandits, had attacked their haciendas. Three men had been badly injured in only one night and Don Lucas had lost his life trying to save his wife.

Given that incident and the mentioned streak of bad luck affecting more and more Los Angelinos, Don Baltasar was, thus, discussing with Don Alejandro his decision to sell his possessions. In fact, he was just explaining that he intended to re-located north, in San Francisco, when the people in the tavern slowly became silent in order to listen in to a conversations they all began to find important.

It was the conversation Don Jacobo, a haciendado from Santa Paula, who had decided to take rooms for the night in Los Angeles, was having while sharing a meal with his nephew, who had just arrived from Spain, having disembarked in San Pedro.

"I tell you, uncle!" The young man tried to convince him. "He defeated twenty of the King's Guardsmen!"

"But how are you sure he was Zorro?" His uncle asked and it was at this point that the taproom became totally silent.

"Who else would be capable of something like that?" The young man said. "He was Zorro. He admitted as much. Said his real name was… Salvador… Salvador Gilarranz, if I remember correctly."

"That's his name!" Mendoza mentioned as Victoria stood up from her table and neared the one occupied by her two new patrons.

"You've seen Zorro?" The taverness asked, hopeful at hearing his name mentioned. "Wh...What happened to him? Did the King let him go after he defeated the soldiers?"

"Let him go? No, Senora. He was furious!" The man stated, completely failing to read the room "He sentenced him as a traitor to 50 lashes and death by disembodiment. The sentence was carried out the following day. I was there. It…it was quite gruesome…when his body parts started to snap…and all the blood…But he never screamed. Not even once!"

The people in the tavern just stared at each other in disbelief, some of them, including Mendoza instantly starting to cry. Felipe hurried out of the tavern, mounted his stallion and fled, his tears flowing freely. Don Alejandro, who, unlike Doctor Hernandez, had not even noticed his grandson's level of distress, thinking he was just going to spread the news, said a silent prayer and worriedly looked at Victoria, who was trembling.

"No, Dios! No!" Was all she managed to mumble, before her water broke and her contractions started.

The old don and the former Sergeant hurriedly took her to her former room at the tavern, the only guestroom still available, as Sepulveda, who had witnessed the conversation, hurried to call Doctor Hernandez. The labor only lasted four hours and Zorro's twins were born in the very bed in which they had been conceived, eight and a half months earlier.

That same evening, Tornado heard Felipe scream.


	18. News

"Feint!" Diego asked as they were training on the ship's deck and Dario executed. "Again! Now a parry riposte." He indicated, his moves slow enough to give his brother time to execute it properly. "Follow with a combined attack! Drive me back!" He indicated when his brother made no move to advance. "You need to concentrate on me and try to anticipate my moves!" Diego went on to explain. "Let's now try a simple attack." At his request, Dario proved, once again, to be much more gifted with the blade than anyone had ever given him credit for.

Their training was part of the very intense routine they had set for themselves since they had left Acapulco, armed with the news they had received while there.

Mexico had, just a few months back, declared its independence, claiming California as part of its territory. The even better news, however, was that Ferdinand the VIIth had refused to assume the leadership of the new country, which his Viceroy had no military forces to reclaim. That decision, in turn, had led the new Mexican leadership to cancel, as a first measure, all bounties for those pursued as enemies or traitors to the Spanish Crown. A general amnesty for such deeds was, thus, declared, one which made Zorro no longer a wanted outlaw.

While, in all fairness, rumors about the masked man's execution had already reached Mexico by then, the other news he had received while in Acapulco made the man behind the mask determined to prove he was still very much alive. The information about Los Angeles, brought by some of the sailors they had met in the Mexican port and who were coming from San Pedro and Santa Barbara, thus only contributed to increase the restlessness Diego had been feeling for the last few months.

As the tall caballero had feared, the oppression of his people had not ended when De Soto left the pueblo, but continued with the new Alcalde. During his absence, people he knew had been executed without trials, for crimes he was certain were not real. Many poor farmers had been forced to leave or sale their lands and resettle in the pueblos up north. Flogging had been instituted as a regular form of punishment for those unable to pay their taxes. An executed don's daughter was being forced into a loveless marriage with the man who had ordered her father's execution. Sergeant Mendoza had been booted out of the Army and replaced with an unscrupulous man loyal to the new Alcalde.

All those accounts reminded Diego only too clearly of a nightmare he had lived on a Christmas Eve, years before, when Luis Ramon still ruled Los Angeles. A nightmare in which his father was dead, his pueblo a ruin, Felipe in prison, Mendoza a beggar and Victoria forever lost to him. How close was that nightmare to the reality of the town he had sacrificed a decade of his life to protect he had no idea, but only the thought of it made his hair stand on end.

"It's not on you, you know?" Dario asked his brother, seeing his troubled grimace.

The De la Vega men and their grandfather had just finished listening to several sailors who had, in the meantime, returned to their vessels. While Jose Carlos and his wife remained on the ship, tending to Vanesa, and the crew of the Ulises was occupied with unloading some of the merchandise it was carrying and with loading fresh provisions, the three of them had gone to the docks, in search of news from California. Now, after all that the sailors passing through had told them, they were quietly sitting around a table in a tavern near the docks, each emerged in his own universe of worries.

"No, it's not. But I knew those men. If I had been there..." Diego replied after a while.

"You can't be everywhere, Diego. This is not on you. If it's on anyone, it's on the new Alcalde."Dario pointed out.

"And on De Soto!" The old Count added.

"Please Grandfather!" Diego begged him, unaware that the mention of the former Alcalde of Los Angeles had attracted the attention of one of the men sat at the table behind him. "He might have done his share of mistakes, but he gave his life so that I could live."

"He offered you to the King. He knew what was going to happen to you!" His grandfather insisted.

"I believe he had convinced himself that Ferdinand would offer him a pardon." Dario replied. "He only realized his mistake when it was already too late."

"Could we, please, put a stop to this conversation? It is neither the time nor the place for it." Diego decided.

"Alright. Here's another subject for you, Grandson! What is the plan for when we get back? Do you even have one?"

"Not yet. But I will. In the end, it was not all bad news we've received today. Mexico is independent, and California is no longer under the Spanish rule. People might not know it yet, but, sooner or later, there will be a new governor and, most probably, a new alcalde for Los Angeles. Perhaps we'll finally get somebody who will put the well-being of the people first." Diego replied.

"Like who?" A good-looking man with a small scar near his left eye challenged him from a nearby table. "Who exactly do you believe would put the well-being of the people in Los Angeles first?"

"There are plenty of decent men in the pueblo, Senor!" Diego replied, wondering what the other man had overheard of their conversation.

"Really?Give me at least one name!" The same man asked, completely turning around on his bench to face them. He was sharply-dressed and was looking at them with what Diego took for noticeable curiosity.

"Don Alejandro de la Vega. Don Lucas Muñoz. Don Baltasar Castro." He replied, unaware that Don Muñoz had, meanwhile, been killed. "And there are others, I assure you."

"I've heard of this Don Alejandro de la Vega. But, I understand he is a Spanish nobleman. A supporter and friend of King Ferdinand." The man continued, engaging into a dialogue with Diego.

"Alejandro is my son-in-law, Senor!" Don Emmanuel addressed him. "I am a Count but I no longer want anything to do with King Ferdinand. And neither will Alejandro, after he finds out what he had tried to do! That barbarian tried to execute my…"

"Zorro." Diego jumped in. "He tried to execute Zorro."

"I understand he has also succeeded!" The man replied, looking at them closely.

"That's certainly what he thinks!" Dario uttered with a brief chuckle directed at Diego.

"Are you saying he's not dead?"

"All he's saying is that, since the man he had executed wore a mask, it is hard to be sure it was really Zorro beneath it." Diego stated, looking intently at his family members in an effort to make them understand it was neither the time nor the place to reveal his identity to even more people.

It sufficed that the Ulises' crew knew about it. He had revealed Zorro's identity when he had been firmly convinced that he would die and they would never know his real name. The men, however, who had tried to kill De Soto from an impulse to save him and who owed him their lives, were trustworthy enough and admired him too much to reveal the truth to anyone else.

Sharing his identity with total strangers, nevertheless, whose motives and loyalties were unknown, was not, in his opinion, a clever or safe thing to do at that time. That was true even if his situation had changed significantly since he had left Los Angeles, and the new Mexican Empire truly regarded him as a hero, rather than an outlaw.

Their interlocutor pretended not to have noticed the exchange of glances between the three men and, after paying his tab, disappeared some five minutes later, together with the other men sitting at his table. A few hours after that conversation, when they returned to their ship, they found him there as the Ulises' newest passenger.

Diego and his brother looked at him suspiciously in the beginning, but soon dismissed those feelings after learning that the man had bought a passage for Monterey. He also spent most of his day out of sight, seemingly uninterested in anyone, only to meet them at dinner. Of course, the birth of one healthy Diego Emmanuel de la Vega, aboard the Ulises, just three days after they had left the port of Acapulco, also contributed in distracting the family's attention from their newest travel mate.

They were, however, not the only ones to get a new companion in Acapulco. So had the Ulises since, as they had left the port, a military vessel, sailing under the flag of the new Mexican Government, also weighed anchor and kept close throughout the rest of their voyage. The ship, which had been recently re-named La Independencia, was, as they found out, transporting Mexican troops to California, giving hope to Diego that a true change was near.

Captain Sotomayor did not mind the company, since it provided him with a strange sense of security, knowing that, should something happen to the Ulises, his men might find safety on the other vessel. It was not the case, since the voyage continued without any trouble, but the two captains had, however, established a routine of greeting each other every time the two ships came near enough, and the sailors did the same.

It was under these circumstances that the two brothers had started training with the sword.

Diego was not naïve enough to believe he might turn Dario into a master swordsman in the last month of their voyage. He was, however, certain that, considering the talent he was demonstrating, he might make him into a better swordsman than most of the Los Angeles lancers. That was all he really needed.

Luckily, they had already spent some of the first part of the journey practicing the whip, and Dario was proving excellent at throwing knives, only slightly missing his target once every eight or nine times, despite the fact that they were on a ship. "You lack my level of practice," Diego would encourage him "but you are at least as gifted as I am when it comes to weapons!" It was not a lie, either, since the amount of progress Dario was making in only a few months and under the circumstances, others would only achieve in years.

That progress, however, and all that remained to be made before they arrived at their destination, was absolutely necessary in order for them to carry out their plan.

Fortunately, Vanesa had made two other black Zorro-style shirts for Diego before leaving Madrid. She had made that decision because the one he had worn there was damaged from his sword fights with the Royal Guardsmen beyond even her expert abilities to repair. And, as she put it, "It's always better to have a spare". That spare, and black trousers borrowed from one of the sailors, gave Diego the idea for how to scare Captain Stark without even risking being boarded. It was also the seed for the plan they were coming up with for their arrival in Los Angeles.

Thus, every morning, at sunrise, the brothers would train and, whenever they'd wake up at that hour, their uncle Juan Carlos and Captain Sotomayor also trained with them. Meanwhile, many of the sailors would either watch or also take part in the lessons. While not intending on spending their own lives fighting against injustice, the crewmen had long since decided that it was hard for any normal mortal to pass up the chance of being taught by a Living Legend. They were, thus, imitating the two brothers, and Diego was kind enough to give them, as well, some pointers, whenever he noticed they were doing something wrong.

As for the new passenger, he was accustomed to getting up at dawn and made it his purpose to secretly watch those fencing classes, every day growing more and more convinced that the suspicion which had driven him to embark on the Ulises was confirming itself to be true.

The man, who was but a year older than the twin brothers, had spent months hoping to one day meet a certain legendary swordsman and, after a couple of weeks on the same ship as Diego, he was fairly certain that he had.

"Don Diego!" He greeted the caballero. It was on the evening of their 20th day at sea after leaving Acapulco, and Diego was standing on the bow, his mind and heart focused on Los Angeles and the people there.

"Don Arturo!" Diego replied with a polite smile, turning towards him.

"Looking forward to returning home?"

"Most definitely."

"You must miss your pueblo very much!"

"I do, Senor."

"Los Angeles, I am sure, also misses you."

Diego smiled but said nothing, so Don Arturo continued. "I also miss my pueblo, back in Mexico, despite having spent much of the last twelve years of my life away from it."

"I don't believe you ever told us where you are from…" Diego subtly inquired.

"It's just a small village. I doubt you've heard of it. It's called Coatepec, on the eastern coast…"

"About a week form Veracruz traveling on horseback." Diego completed.

"You know it?" The man pretended ignorance.

"I do, actually. I have passed through it not long ago. Have you been there recently?"

"Not very recently. Last time I was there was about seven months ago, if I remember correctly. The day after some of the Viceroy's men had been captured by the villagers, after having tried to execute part of the population."

"Really? And…Do you know what happened to them, by any chance?" Diego couldn't help himself but wonder.

"As a matter of fact, I do. As I remember it, when I got there with my men, several of them decided to switch their allegiance. The others were either imprisoned, or sent to Spain with the Viceroy and the rest of his troops. I, for one, would have been more than glad to execute their commander for what he had been about to do; and for what he had done in other villages, where there was no masked hero to stop him. But my uncles told me you had asked for mercy in their name."

Diego did not react, but fully perceived the implications of that statement.

"It was lucky, though." Don Arturo went on. "The same commander proved to be one of the sons of Colonel Manuel de Concha, whose troops were protecting the Capital. He was quite useful in ending the revolution. Had we executed him, as he fully deserved, the battles might have been prolonged for weeks, perhaps months, and who knows how many more would have died?"

"It is good you didn't…"

"Yes. It most certainly is… So what is your plan? You are training your brother, so I expect Los Angeles is to soon find out that the number of foxes in the area has doubled." The caballero still hesitated, so he continued, a wide grin displayed on his face. "I had arrived in Coatepec the same day you and De Soto had left. My grandmother and one of my nephews were in the group Concha had selected to execute the day before. Ever since I found out, there hasn't been a day that I didn't pray for the chance to thank you."

Diego continued remaining quiet.

"When the news of your demise arrived and I thought that my chance to repay you was lost, I promised myself that I would, at least, continue your work and make sure the pueblo you have fought for was free from tyranny. It was one of the reasons I have asked for California."

At this point, Diego threw him a sharp look, in an effort to fully grasp the meaning of his words.

"That vessel, you see…" Don Arturo stated gesturing with his head towards La Independencia "is escorting me... Towards Monterey, where I am to assume my new position as Governor of California."

"You… are… the new… Governor?" It was a question although it sounded much like an affirmation.

"I am. And, as the new Governor, I was planning to stop in Los Angeles for a forced removal of a certain Alcalde causing problems there. I was also going to leave one of my officers in his place, but I do believe a man who has spent a decade fighting for his pueblo might be better suited for the job. If you'll have it…"

"I… I believe the lancers might find it difficult to work for me. Perhaps my father would be a better option. He has fought tooth and nail, out in the open, for those people since long before I ever donned a mask."

"Do you think he would swear his allegiance to the new state?"

"I think he might be convinced."

"And if he is not?"

"If he is not, it will not matter how the lancers feel, as long as the people of Los Angeles can finally live their lives in peace."

"I believe we have a deal, Don Diego. However, there is something more I was considering…"

"More?"

"Well, yes. Since I started to understand why were you training your brother, I also came to realize how…mundane my own plan was."

"Mundane?"

"Certainly mundane, for lack of a better word. March into town with an army and simply replace the Alcalde. I have the power and the men to do it. But that would be… forgettable."

"You're thinking there's a better way. Make a spectacle out of it and the effects, as well as the lesson, might last longer than if doing it the conventional way."

"Precisely! I knew we spoke the same language! After all, the return of a hero deserves something… more interesting…"

"What do you have in mind, Your Excellency?" Diego asked with a wicked smile.

"Nothing too different from what, I'm sure, you had in mind. Only a little bit better!"


	19. El Angel de Los Angeles

The report of Zorro's death at the hands of the Spanish King was not the only news that shook Los Angeles. In fact, starting the day the youngest De la Vega twins were born at the end of November 1821, the rest of that year was filled with unexpected events and revelations.

Completely convinced he would never have to deal with the masked threat who had hindered his predecessors' plans, Montalvo's first act after Ruiz informed him of the execution was to move forward with his intention to become extremely wealthy.

So, about a week after the citizens of Los Angeles learned that their hero had perished, the Alcalde decided the right moment to put his most ambitious plan into motion had finally arrived.

His first act was to sabotage his own men. Not all of them, of course, just the ones who he felt were not faithful to him and cared too much about the people of the pueblo. Knowing the bandits would overwhelm small patrols, he sent out only three or four lancers at a time, guaranteeing that at least some of them would be injured.

It was, in fact, nothing less than a miracle that nobody had been killed. After about six of them had received rather serious injuries, he declared Martial Law and forbade public gatherings.

His next step was to send a report to Monterey. In it, he claimed that several bandits who had been caught recently and already executed had confessed to having been paid to attack Los Angeles in an effort to cause confusion and diminish the military strength of the garrison.

A few days later he sent an additional report, which included the list of names he had made and 'recovered' from Don Mateo, and stated that he had uncovered a local conspiracy against the Spanish authorities. That move had not been in his initial plan, since the list was only supposed to be used against Ana-Cristina's father in order to scare her into accepting his courtship. However, the more he thought about it, Montalvo realized that there was more he could do with it. With that in mind, he accused the people in the list of having already initiated a plot against the Spanish leadership

The list, which he had made hurriedly without actually paying much attention to it, in his mind now proved to be a true list of his enemies. It contained 33 names. If he had not already spread the news about the number and allowed so many people to see it when Don Mario had been executed, he would have gladly added at least a few more names to it.

Felipe De la Vega came to mind, since his fiancée seemed a little too interested in him, despite pretending the contrary. He, had, several times, dismissed that thought, thinking that it was but his imagination, for what woman would chose a deaf-mute over him? However, he was noticing more and more about the two.

The way they looked at each other in the tavern, Ana-Cristina having danced with him at a recent party and the unhidden disdain in the young man's eyes were causing him uneasiness. His handicap had been, thus far, the only reason he had mainly ignored the adopted De la Vega. But he was slowly changing that decision, because the allure presented by the fortune he was to inherit was hard to ignore, especially since Montalvo already had an idea about how to get his hands on it. All he needed was a little patience and the proper plan.

That second report he had sent just days before news arrived from Mexico about its recently gained independence. While ambiguous as far as how that affected the status quo of California, Governor Frasquez decided to keep his position at all costs. Thus, his reply to the Alcalde's plan could not be a more welcome one. The high-ranking official ordered him to make every effort to stop any and all rebellious activities and punish those who had perpetrated them. Even more useful to Montalvo, though, were the reinforcements promised in order to help him in that task. Thirty new lancers for Los Angeles and a similar number for San Pedro and San Diego, were sent in a desperate attempt to prevent Mexico from taking over the territory, a territory which already belonged to the new state.

Meanwhile, after receiving the shocking news at the tavern, the grief-stricken Felipe spent three days mostly in the cave, crying but, at the same time, slowly recovering his voice. He had found himself able to say more and more every day since the evening when, after finding out about the execution, he had returned to his sanctuary. At that time, unable to do anything else, he opened his mouth to let out a silent scream which, eventually, transformed into a fully-voiced one. Hours later, that scream had turned into words and words into sentences. Felipe could finally speak but not with the one person he had, for so long, wished would have the chance to, one day, hear his voice. He would never have that chance to talk with Diego. Or, at least, that was what he believed.

The short words were the easiest, since he had already practiced whispering them. The longer, more complicated ones, initially, posed some problems for him, needing to repeat them until they sounded right. However, he was speaking, which, in his mind, meant that he might soon be able to take over Diego's mantle and become the pueblo's new defender, or Angel, since he already liked the name the people had bestowed upon him.

There were several reasons why he was considering working in the open. Firstly, it was because Zorro was not, as he had hoped, coming back. He had kept his activities secret, acting from the shadows, simply as a last resort while waiting for him to come back and make everything alright again. Since that was not going to happen, and for all he knew help was not coming, Felipe realized that he needed to take a more public stance. That was because of the next reasons on his list.

Secondly his activities as the unseen defender, while rather successful, were not nearly as successful as Zorro's had always been, and thirdly the Alcalde needed an enemy to fear in order to keep him in check. The young don had come to realize the truth that Montalvo didn't fear an 'angel' who never confronted anyone and whose existence was only suspected because no one ever saw him. So, the evil man continued acting as if nobody even remotely challenged him.

Felipe's other reasons revolved around the fact that, as a known deaf-mute, his disguise was even better than that of his father, making it easier to hide. Furthermore, he already had Tornado, explosives, a secret cave, a laboratory and ten years of training. All of that was certainly more than Diego had had when he came up with the idea for Zorro.

What Felipe also had was very bad timing. At the time he had taken the above-mentioned decision, Felipe was already in love.

It had all started several weeks earlier, after he had saved Don Mateo.

Having made sure that the don was safe, the young man decided it was too cruel not to let his family know he was alive. So, he secretly arranged for the two women, who were under the constant supervision of Montalvo's men, to receive a message from him and even facilitated a meeting with him, during a mass. They hadn't had time to exchange more than a couple of words, but, at least, they saw each other.

The knowledge that her father was alive gave Ana-Cristina hope and the power to endure being subjected to Montalvo's unwelcomed courtship. It also gave her a hero.

While Felipe had asked the don not to tell the women he loved who it was to have saved him, he did not respect his promise. Knowing he would be leaving them, at least for a while, Don Mateo felt that he, at least, needed them safe. Since there was nobody else he now trusted more than the young don, he felt he had no other choice but to tell them, in a letter he handed to his wife, to whom he was indebted and to encourage them to seek his help, should they need it.

So, much like Victoria had once fallen in love with Zorro, Ana-Cristina, too, fell for the man she quickly realized, was behind every one of the Alcalde's failed plans. The one important difference, however, was that the younger woman knew the true name of her hero.

This was how, weeks before his voice returned, while caught up in his own clandestine fight, Felipe, couldn't help noticing the looks she gave him every time they were in the same room. She was an extremely beautiful senorita, although, at eighteen, she was still too young for marriage, in his view. Yet, he found it impossible not to feel drawn to her. To her golden hair and green eyes, her warm smile and kind nature, to the increasingly loving gaze in her eyes, whenever she looked at him.

So, the young don had danced with her, visited her with Don Alejandro who was concerned for the wife and daughter of his friend and, after she had given him a note asking to come see her, he did so, late at night, making sure he was not being spotted by the two lancers who the Alcalde had constantly guarding her.

Ana-Cristina was not Felipe's first love. He had fallen for other senoritas before, just like they had fallen for him. However, he knew that what he felt for her was deeper than what he had felt for any other, the kind of love that made him spend much of his time imagining a future by her side.

Watching her every day with the Alcalde they both despised, knowing he could only steal a kiss from her under the cover of darkness, risking being caught in the process, he was also starting to get a real idea about what life must have been for Diego and Victoria for all those years. In his case, however, the clandestine courtship was not due to his secrets but was happening despite them.

Thus, when the news of his father's demise came and he reached that final decision to carry on the fight he had started, Felipe also decided he was not going to have Ana-Cristina waste her youth, waiting for a future that might never come.

The beginning of December, thus, found the young man raised by Zorro engaged in a triple battle: one with his own grief, one with the love in his heart and one with Montalvo, each of them just as likely to bring about his demise.

Yet, his father had taught him to prioritize his actions and to choose his battles. So, while the Alcalde was receiving news about the impending arrival of his reinforcements, Felipe was devising a plan to save the woman he loved and her mother from his clutches. He knew he was going to give her up right afterwards, but he was determined that, at least, he would make sure that she was safe, reunited with her father, somewhere where Montalvo could not reach her.

ZZZ

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, about two weeks before Christmas, when the young De la Vega decided to put his plan into action. Two of his plans, to be more precise.

Taking some of the money from Diego's personal reserves, the one only the two of them knew about, he first visited San Diego. There, he bought a couple of white silk blouses, similar in style to Zorro's. In San Pedro he found a pair of high, black boots and the silk he needed to fashion his mask and cape. A white cowboy hat he had already bought, years earlier, but had never used. All he needed to do was to add a few conchos to it. The white pants that completed his disguise had been Diego's, his father having used them while training with Sir Kendall, and all they needed were a few adjustments to their length. The last pieces in his disguise, the black sash and the gloves he planned to use, had been part of Zorro's outfit and were also his own way to remember him, while continuing his fight for justice. Finally, a Toledo steel sword with a beautifully ornate hilt, which his father had given him the day he became a De la Vega, as well as a whip and several small knives were his most important accessories.

His own costume ready, the next step was to find a proper disguise for Tornado. Since painting him was out of the question, he eventually decided on adding some white hair to his mane and tail. A white leather saddle, bridle and saddlebags, he found just as he was about to give up the idea. It was only by chance that his grandfather had sent him at an Indian camp to deliver some provisions the exact day the mentioned item was finished and it was also by pure luck that he was the first person the Indian who had made it showed it to; the first and only since Felipe did not even try to negotiate it, just bought it on the spot. Camouflaged that way, while he still look a lot like himself, the black steed could now easily pass for a different horse.

The next step in his preparations was to ensure that the two women had a place to hide, all they needed in order to do so and enough money to buy them all a new life. With that in mind, over the entire week before what he considered as "the Angel's debut", Felipe had made nightly visits to the Feliz hacienda. Each time he arrived, he brought with him a pair of empty saddlebags and, when he left, those same bags were filled with clothes, jewelry and money, as well as with other various possessions Ana-Cristina and her mother, Dona Francesca, considered important. Everything he collected he took to the cave, where, after making sure to safely hide his father's possessions and journals, he had also installed a second cot.

Felipe knew that Montalvo would search everywhere for the two women, and they were not going to be able to outrun his men. That was why, instead of taking them straight to Santa Barbara, he needed to hide them until he could safely move them. And the best place he knew to hide was the cave.

Once these preparations were completed, he moved to the next stage of his plan: create an alibi for himself.

Having already given the impression that he was interested in medicine, especially given the amount of time he was pretending to spend with Doctor Hernandez, this was supposed to be the easiest part. It proved, however, to be the hardest, since his partner in crime initially refused to help him do something he considered might have a similar outcome for him as it had had for Diego. After being a friend of Don Alejandro for decades, it was also hard for the good doctor to agree to bluntly lie to the man. The matter of his own life being at stake didn't even make it into their conversation since he trusted Felipe enough to know he'd find a way not to risk it. Fortunately, though, after promising to only act when absolutely necessary and always make sure to come to him if injured, the young man convinced the older one. The truth was, however, that, after two hours listening to him and an entire day spent taking care of injured lancers, the doctor simply lacked the energy to argue further and gave up.

So, the day before his plan was to be set in motion, Hernandez came searching for the young De la Vega at the tavern, asking for his help and stating that he needed to accompany him to Santa Paula. As Don Alejandro did not oppose what he perceived to be an interest in medicine reminiscent of his son's, Felipe's bags were packed within an hour as the two set out on their journey.

His plan already in motion, all that remained was for Felipe to rescue the two women. However, he needed to do that in stages, since not even Tornado could successfully challenge the garrison's horses if he carried too much extra weight.

That was how, on that beautiful Sunday morning, having made all the needed arrangements, El Angel mounted Alas (the new name he had chosen for Tornado) and made his way towards the Hacienda Feliz.

Ana-Cristina's mother was waiting for him, as agreed, pretending to be ill. In fact, at the precise moment he got there, the older woman was pacing in her room while her mind was making its best case against their decision to flee.

Since everyone had already gone to attend the mass, only the two lancers remained to guard her and the pueblo's newest hero had barely any trouble to reach her. Armed with ether, the masked man crept up on the two soldiers, neither one of them even hearing him until it was too late. Fifteen minutes later, they were both sleeping, tightly bound and gagged in the cellar, while Dona Francesca and El Angel were making their way towards the cave.

Leaving her there to read a letter he had prepared in place of explanations, the masked man made his way towards the pueblo.

He arrived in Los Angles about half an hour before the mass was to be finished, and the first thing he did was to bury a few time-delay devices in the outskirts of the pueblo. As soon as that was done, he headed for the cuartel. With nobody in the plaza or on the streets to even notice him, he quietly blocked the main entrance and, climbing on the roof, he lowered himself into the courtyard. There, he found as many muskets as he could find and filled them with water from his flask. Once that part of his plan was done, he returned to his steed and waited behind the church.

His patience was rewarded some twenty minutes later, as the Alcalde dragged his fiancée out of the church, with the same speed a demon would run at feeling the smell of the incense. A few seconds later, El Angel swooped in and tried to grab the young woman to lift her up onto his mount. Unfortunately, though, Montalvo had no intention of letting go of her arm. Tightening his grip on her, he, thus, ended up dragging the three of them, one on top of the other, to the ground. First to recover, the masked man released Ana-Cristina from the baffled Alcalde's hand and pulled her behind him as he unsheathed his sword.

Moments later he was engaged in a swordfight with the official and two of his lancers, the young woman standing but a few feet away from them and imminent danger.

"Who are you?" Montalvo remembered to ask as his opponent parried several thrusts at once.

"I am El Angel." Replied a voice only the black -clad Legend had heard before. "I have come to continue what Zorro started until the people of this pueblo are finally free of tyranny, and I am starting with this young woman you have blackmailed into marrying you." As he said that, the two lancers' swords went flying out of reach and a destabilizing push made them land on top of their commander. Sensing his opportunity, El Angel whistled for his stallion and swiftly mounted him, lifting Ana-Cristina to sit in front of him. In vain did Montalvo call for his men, which were trapped in the cuartel. By the time they exited via the Alcalde's office, the two lovers were passing through the pueblo's entrance. At the same time, the exploding devices started going off, distracting the lancers and their commander long enough to allow them to put enough distance between them and their soon- to- be pursuers and thus safely make their escape.


	20. Of hope and memories

"You can talk?" Ana-Cristina asked as they were nearing the cave. She had tried to do it sooner, but discovered that the shock of hearing him had somehow canceled out her own ability to speak. After deciding to take the fight out in the open, Felipe had confessed to her that he was not truly deaf but the fact that his voice had returned he had kept, until that moment, only for himself.

"It's a very recent development…" He answered honestly, as they were taking the 'scenic route' to the cave. "If you don't mind, I need to blindfold you now. You will soon find out where my hideout is, but it is better that you didn't know the way to it." He added a while later, after making sure that nobody would be able to follow them.

The young woman simply nodded as he used his sash to cover her eyes. After some ten minutes, as the big rock slid aside to make room for Tornado and his riders, he lowered his upper body, leaning on hers, and, once they were inside the big room, he jumped from the saddle.

"Welcome to my cave!" Felipe greeted her as he was helping the young woman down and proceeded to untie the blindfold.

"Your cave?" She asked, looking around. Seeing her mother there, she let go of him and went to embrace her. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"I am, my dear! And soon, when we'll be reunited with your father, I will be even better." She answered.

"Unfortunately, that can only happen after the things will have calmed down." Felipe told them. "The Alcalde is bound to start searching for you soon, and it will take a while before he is convinced you are no longer anywhere near Los Angeles. Until then, you will need to stay here."

It was only at that moment that the older woman realized he had spoken to them. "I had thought you were a mute." She pointed out, eyes wide-opened in surprise.

"So does everyone else. Which is the one reason nobody will ever suspect me, unless the few who know my secret decide to betray me."

"We will never betray you, Felipe! Not after everything you have done for us! I… I would have killed myself rather than marry that monster!" Ana-Cristina put into words the depth of her despair. "But… I don't understand… How did you find this place? Where is it?"

"The letter I left you both explains it and contains further instructions for the two of you." Felipe answered as he was taking his Pinto out of Tornado's stall, leaving him tied up near the cave's entrance and quickly stabling the black stallion. "For my alibi to work, I'll need to be going soon." He continued while making sure Tornado had enough food and water. "I'll be back this evening. Meanwhile, the exit through the hacienda is sealed off in case the Alcalde's men come looking for you. There is also an alarm system. If it goes off, you need to cut that rope" he indicated towards the system opening the back entrance. "You have enough food, candles and books to last you till my return." He added, as he was collecting his caballero clothes and entering the narrow passage leading to the library, in order to change.

When that was done, he returned to the main room, preparing to leave.

"One last thing: do not touch anything on that table!" He said, indicating towards the laboratory. "Some of the substances there are very dangerous. In fact, try not to touch much of anything…" He said, taking another look around and realizing the cave was filled with weapons, explosives, and toxic substances. The two women just nodded, and he did his best not to worry about leaving them alone there, hoping curiosity would not get the best of them.

About ten hours later, Doctor Hernandez and Felipe returned to a pueblo that was quite different from the one they had left the previous day.

All of the haciendas, farmhouses, caves, mines, and, basically, every place in which someone could hide had already been or were about to be searched and, in many cases, almost taken apart. The Alcalde was furious and so were the dons whose belongings his men had destroyed in their searches. The lancers, on their part, were terrified by their fuming commander. However, seeing there was, once again, someone there to defend them, the people were hopeful.

Around midnight, after making sure everyone in the hacienda was sleeping, Felipe decided to check on the two women. No matter what the time, he was quite certain they were waiting for him and didn't want to let them down.

Two guards were posted in front of the entries to the hacienda, since Montalvo suspected that the De la Vegas were involved in his fiancée's disappearance. Nevertheless, since using the secret passage through the library was not an option at the moment, as it was blocked from the inside, the back entrance was the only way for him to get into the cave.

So, Felipe made a quick exit through one of his room's windows, and, cautious to avoid being spotted by the guards, headed for the hills behind the hacienda.

Stopping just as he was about to step into the cave's main room, he first asked if he might proceed to enter. As he expected, neither of the two women were asleep, and Ana–Cristina wasted no time in getting off her bed and heading straight into Felipe's arms, resting her head on his shoulder.

"We were so scared!" She confessed. "We heard Montalvo and his men arguing with Don Alejandro. It seemed so close! They arrived not ten minutes after you left! I even heard him ask about you, but your grandfather did not tell him anything."

"That can't have been hard, since he doesn't know anything. He is still convinced I cannot hear, not to mention he couldn't have recognized my voice, considering he had never heard it before today." Felipe answered, lowering his head as if in shame.

"You haven't told him?" Dona Francesca asked, incredulously.

"The two of you and one more person, who is not a member of the De la Vega household. That's everyone who knows that I can speak… As for you hearing Montalvo and my grandfather… I already explained that in the letter. This cave is part of an old escape route for the Hacienda, which is why you can hear some of the conversations taking place in the house. I'd rather you didn't listen, though. The people on the other side do not know they are being overheard."

"So… The Hacienda De la Vega is just on the other side of this wall." Ana-Cristina inquired. "and you said something about a direct entrance earlier... You can come here straight from the house?"

"Yes. There is a secret entrance… But it is better you don't know much about its location. Please… Trust me! It is for your own good."

"Alright, Felipe. We will ask no more about it. However, I was also wondering about your stallion…" Ana-Cristina wondered, having seen the horse carrying him away after his nightly visits. "I… I noticed he looks a lot like…"

"He's Tornado. I found him after Zorro was captured and have kept him here, in this cave, ever since. His new public name is Alas." He answered.

"Alaa? Why? Why disguise him? Why not let him be Tornado?" The young woman questioned.

"I… I believe it's better this way. Zorro's Tornado is gone as far as everyone knows. Besides, if the people knew I was riding him, they'd assume I also knew who Zorro was." He replied and immediately regretted.

"And don't you?" Dona Francesca questioned.

"How could I?" Felipe answered hesitantly. "Nobody knows who Zorro truly was…"

"Victoria must know. And so do I." The older woman confessed, causing the two younger people to stare at her.

"You knew Senor Salvador Gilarranz, Mama?" The young woman asked.

"Well, Daughter… No… I did not know Senor Salvador Gilarranz, since he never actually existed. I did, however, know the man using that alias for my… better make that… his entire life. I told you about my brother, didn't I, Ana?"

"Uncle Benicio? But you said he died when he was fourteen! He couldn't have possibly been Zorro!"

"Of course not! His best friend, however, was. Benicio… had such an inquisitive mind, you see… My father was so proud of him! When he died, I think part of your grandfather passed away, as well." She said, the memory claiming a tear from the older woman. "But I must be confusing you… My brother… he was very ill for the last months of his life, so his best friend would visit daily. Benicio always seemed so much better after those visits that, for a while, we even allowed ourselves to hope he might overcome his affliction. Anyway, one day, after seeing his friend to my brother's quarters, I left the door to the room a little open, just enough to hear what they were talking about. We all had our theories: my mother was certain they were praying, my father was sure he was giving him some remedy he might have gotten from his Indian friends, and I was convinced they were discussing about some young senorita. Instead, they were making up stories of love and adventure. And the one constant in their stories was that they had named their main character Salvador Gilarranz. I, myself, found them fascinating, so I kept eavesdropping whenever I could. I must have listened to at least twenty installments of Senor Gilarranz's adventures before my brother's death, but not once had I heard that name mentioned afterward, until those sailors brought news of De Soto's prisoner going by the same name. When Mendoza said it was the alias Zorro had used once before, I could swear my heart stopped for a moment. And then I dismissed the thought because it was impossible… A man cannot be alive and dead at the same time, after all… However, when you, Felipe, helped my husband fake his death, everything suddenly made sense. How nobody disappeared from the pueblo when Zorro was taken, how Alcalde De Soto knew to take the reward money, how you knew how to help my husband and all those other people you have helped. That was when I was certain that I knew exactly who Zorro was. Just like I am quite sure you also know."

Felipe looked at her with wide-eyes, then realized she did, indeed know the truth, so all he could do at that point was to make sure that such important information was contained. "Victoria… He never told her… She has no idea that the story she and my grandfather are telling about the twins is actually true… I promised him I'd take care of them. But he never wanted anyone to find out…" The young man practically begged her.

"She doesn't know?" Dona Francesca questioned "She should, Felipe! That young woman is already suffering knowing how the man she loved died. God knows how unjust a death he was given to suffer! But how would knowing his true identity make it any worse for her?"

"She'd want to know why…Why he left. She will suffer at finding out. And she might tell others…She might tell Grandfather." Felipe answered. "It would kill him! He's always taken pride in his friendship with the King. Knowing that… I don't believe he might survive knowing."

"But that is what I don't understand, Felipe! Why did the King have him executed if his father is his friend?"

"Father?" Ana-Cristina asked, rapidly connecting the dots in her mind. "O, Dios! Don Diego was Zorro? Is that what you're saying? That is why you are doing this, Felipe?"

Her lover sighed and just nodded at her, then continued his conversation with Dona Francesca. "De Soto had found out the truth about him and set a trap for him that he could not avoid… But he used the name Salvador Gilarranz for a reason. A few friends of his had mentioned in their letters how the King had changed a lot after he had been removed from the throne by the French. He sees enemies everywhere. He even turned against many of his close friends, not to mention that he no longer seems to have a conscience… Over the years, Father had found out about several instances when King Ferdinand had ordered an entire family to be executed after having judged that one of its members had betrayed him. Even his ministers… and disregarding all proof refuting the accusations. He doesn't care about justice any more than he cares about the truth. Father… He feared for us… For what the King might do to his family, so using his true name was not an option for him. I still… I still hoped he'd be back… I always believed in him, and he never before betrayed my faith. But… I guess not even him can do the impossible… he's not returning and I have to accept that... Following in his footsteps is the only way I know how to ease the pain and how to honor the sacrifices he had made… I don't care what price I might have to pay. I need to do this for him." Felipe uttered as he suddenly found his tears falling again.

The woman he loved embraced him tenderly and let him cry on her shoulder, while her mother came and put her arms around them as if they were both her children.

ZZZ

"You know, Victoria," Don Alejandro uttered, the morning after El Angel's first appearance, as the two of them were alone in the library, his granddaughter in his arms and his grandson in his mother's "I don't care that they are not truly Diego's. They are still my grandchildren… They even look like him!"

"You are their grandfather, Don Alejandro, and they couldn't have asked for a better one; just like I couldn't have asked for a better protector. If it were not for you…"

"Let's not dwell on that, shall we?" He decided, suddenly regretting having even touched upon that subject. The truth was that the old don could not help but love the two babies since the moment he had first seen them. The weeks after their birth, he even started fantasizing that it was his blood running through their veins, although, at the same time, he was grateful to God that it had not been his son whom the King had ordered ripped apart. In fact, he was growing more and more conflicted about his affiliation with Ferdinand, which was also the main reason he no longer even mentioned it. "I will always be proud to think of them as my descendants. There is much everyone in Los Angeles, I most of all, owe their father. God only knows how many times that brave young man had saved my life, risking his own in the process!"

"He did it because he always knew you were a good man." Victoria told him as her eyes were becoming moist with tears. After the news of Zorro's death had reached them, and his children chose that same evening to come into the world, both always looking at her with their father's blue eyes, crying was a constant with the taverness. "I'm sure he knows, wherever he is, that we can count on you, Don Alejandro!"

ZZZ

The day after Ana-Cristina and her mother disappeared, Montalvo's men had also discovered that many of their possessions had gone missing. Wasting no time, the Alcalde ordered the arrest of the Feliz housemaid and of their stableman. In vain the two had tried to convince him they had nothing to do with what had happened. He did not care about guilt or innocence. All he cared about was for someone to be punished.

"Begin!" Montalvo ordered, and his men tied the two servants to the posts erected in the plaza, ripping off the back of their blouses and readying themselves to begin the flogging to which they had been sentenced.

"Alcalde!" Don Alejandro yelled at entering the plaza accompanied by some of the other dons. "You have no reason to do this!"

"Stay away Don Alejandro! Unless you want to confess to have been behind the plot to have my fiancée and her mother abducted!"

"I did no such thing. And you have no proof they were involved, either." He stated, referring to the two people awkwardly hanging from the posts. "We were all there when El Angel took Ana-Cristina with him and she seemed to welcome his intervention. Senorita Feliz did not want to marry you, and you know that!"

"Lies! You are lying, De la Vega! My fiancée was abducted and, unless you are willing to give me the true name of this Angel, you should really keep a reign on your mouth!" He told the don, as he turned to his men. "I believe I had told you to begin!"

Just at that moment, as they spiraled their whips to start thrashing, El Angel made his way into the pueblo, mounted on his steed. To everyone's increasing awe, the stallion attacked the lancers, making them drop their whips. A moment later, his rider rapidly dismounted and made his way towards the Alcalde, his sword at the man's neck before Montalvo was able to react.

"Tell your men to put down their weapons and to let them go!" The masked man demanded.

"Only if you have come to surrender." The Alcalde tried to buy himself some time, hoping that soon one of his lancers would fire on his adversary. Most of his men, however, were too stunned to interfere, while the others were doing their best to stay away from his stallion.

Aware of what he was doing, El Angel pressed his sword further, nicking the skin just enough for the Alcalde to feel it trickle down his neck.

"I don't believe you understood. Tell your men to lay down their weapons or the next time I press my sword, I will kill you!" Realizing he was not being taken seriously, he added "Zorro didn't kill, but I am not Zorro. I will take your life if I need to."

Montalvo finally understood the seriousness of his situation and gestured to his men to put their weapons on the ground, then ordered them to release the prisoners.

"Now, let's make this clear! Those two people have done nothing wrong. I have taken Ana-Cristina and her mother. I have taken their possessions, and I have carried them away on my stallion. I did it because they needed help, and they are now safe and out of your reach!"

The Alcalde swallowed hard, as his nostrils seemed to grow with every intake of air, not unlike those of a bull. "You will pay for this! And their hacienda and lands will be confiscated! I shouldn't have allowed them to keep them, anyway, since Don Feliz was a confessed traitor!"

"First of all, it is you who shall pay! You will pay for every wrongdoing you've committed since you put foot in Los Angeles. Raise one hand against another citizen of this pueblo and no force on Heaven or Earth will stop me from giving you your just punishment! Secondly, the Feliz Hacienda and lands are not within your right to take, since you have blackmailed Don Mateo into signing that false confession. His wife and daughter are their rightful owners!" As he said that, he signed an A on the Alcalde's tunic. "Something to remind you that you are being watched, Alcalde!" He uttered, then, whistling for his steed, he left the pueblo to the people's acclaims, before any of the lancers' bullets could reach him.

ZZZ

"What happened?" Victoria asked Don Alejandro as he joined her in the library upon his return. She had heard the news which had driven the old don to the pueblo and had been eagerly awaiting news.

Felipe also came from his room, pretending to have just woken up from a nap, one fully deserved after the previous day's journey.

"Our new masked hero saved them from the flogging and gave the Alcalde a well-deserved lesson." Don Alejandro uttered. "He even carved an A in Montalvo's uniform. You both missed quite some excitement!" He proceeded to state. "Whoever the man is, from what I have seen so far, he is proving himself a worthy disciple of Zorro's. The fighting style, the mask… even the horse… If he didn't have that white hair in his mane and tail, I would swear it's Tornado! He even answers to a whistle, same as Tornado used to."

"What if it is Tornado? Maybe he's just disguised…Maybe this new masked man knows who Zorro was! Perhaps…"

"Victoria, my dear, had Zorro decided that he wanted us to know his identity, he would have told us. He would have, at least, told you! This new champion of ours… Well… Firstly, I am not sure what his chances are, since Montalvo is far more astute and dangerous than both Ramon and De Soto; and secondly, just like in the case of the man whose fight he has chosen to continue, we have no idea who he is and how to reach him." Don Alejandro pointed out, hoping that the young woman would finally give up trying to find out who her masked lover was.

Felipe just stood there and listened, wondering if Dona Francesca wasn't, perhaps, right in that it was better to tell the taverness the truth about the man she loved.


	21. Scheming

Felipe had thought that sharing his refuge with two women would be hard for him. He soon found, however, that he couldn't have been more wrong. In fact, he couldn't be happier to have them there while the Alcalde continued to send his men to search for any sign as to where they might be.

Both Dona Francesca and her daughter had sharp minds and were eager to learn more about Felipe's plans, even to come up with ideas and suggestions to help him succeed. He, thus, spent more and more time in the cave, showing them many of the things he had learned from Diego, telling them about his father and all his adventures, and, while not realizing it, learning to think of the two as his second family.

Dona Francesca had all but adopted him as her son, and her daughter was relentless in her determination to forever keep his heart, despite all the dangers and risks he was invoking at least once a day. Truth be told, after everything she had recently been through, the young woman had become a perfect optimist and had convinced herself that Felipe was the only man for her. With that in mind, she also decided to remain by his side, even after the things would have calmed down, and they'd finally be able to join her father in Santa Barbara.

While her mother was, indeed, concerned about the danger to his life, and to her daughter's heart, should anything happen to him, the dona had soon understood that she had no chance of convincing him to give up his fight. More so, she understood full well why he was doing what he was doing and, while afraid for him, she couldn't help herself but admire the young man her daughter loved.

Thus, unable to do anything else, she prayed every day that change would come soon enough and that Felipe would survive his battle. She also did her best to convince him to tell the truth to Victoria, hoping that the taverness might, in turn, make him realize that his father wouldn't have wanted for him to sacrifice his own life carrying on the fight he had started.

ZZZ

Montalvo had no intention of allowing El Angel to go unpunished. So, just after the first time he had humiliated him, he put a price of 3,000 pesos on his head and soon imposed a new tax to both raise the money for his capture and to lure him out.

However, the new masked bandit did not operate exactly the same as Zorro. When the tax was implemented, instead of fighting for its repeal, he used his reserves to anonymously help those who could not pay it. A few days later, after the taxes had been collected, dressed in the dark-brown clothes he had used for his acts of sabotage, El Angel entered the Alcalde's office during the night. Employing the magnet trick his father had taught him, he opened the safe, stole its entire contents – about 12,000 pesos - and left it closed, no clue and or trace indicating he had ever been there. The theft itself was only discovered when, the following afternoon, Montalvo decided to count his treasure.

In retaliation for what he was certain to have been the work of the masked man, he ordered a new extensive search, just as intrusive as the one his men had conducted a week earlier, making sure to inform everyone that it was because of their new "hero" that they were submitted to that treatment. More items were destroyed and more poor families were left with even less than they had a few days earlier as, this time, the destruction was part of the express orders given and the lancers obeyed them.

The evening of the second day of searches, at returning to the cuartel after having accompanied his men during the entire day, Montalvo found most of his own possessions destroyed. His cravats and his suits had been cut to pieces, his bed taken apart and the mattress stabbed as if somebody had tried to assassinate it, his desk cut in half, the eagle on his chair decapitated, and everything covered in flour. Furthermore, the masked outlaw had not stopped at punishing him, but, with the help of flour-filled time-delay devices, covered in the white powder every room in the cuartel, as a punishment for the lancers, as well.

This time, however, the Alcalde had no doubt as to the man who had perpetrated those deeds, the note he had left behind simply stating:

"An eye for an eye,

El Angel"

With the tavern temporarily closed due to his own men's actions and destructions caused during their search, the enraged Alcalde had no choice but to move the lancers to the farmhouses he had bought since his arrival. That was how, he and his men had to share, at least for that one night, improper quarters which had been overrun by small rodents and other animals in the time they had remained empty.

The following three days the lancers spent cleaning and fixing up the cuartel's quarters and the Alcalde's office, while the man himself, swearing to soon get his revenge, left for San Pedro to renew his wardrobe and get some decent rest at the tavern there.

After days of brooding, however, on the evening of December 21st, upon his return, Montalvo felt like a winner. Thirty new lancers, sent by the Governor under the command of a Lieutenant Luis Guzman, were awaiting his arrival.

That was also the day when Felipe realized his fight might be over sooner than he expected, since even his father would have stood little chance of surviving a confrontation with fifty soldiers.

It was also the day the old dons misguidedly decided to start preparing a resistance.

ZZZ

On December 22nd, Don Alejandro and Victoria baptized the twins.

The padre performed a beautiful ceremony, and all of Don Alejandro's friends, as well as Victoria's remaining ones – those who had not abandoned her after finding out she was to become an unmarried mother who had betrayed the pueblo's hero with the pueblo's coward – were present at the church.

It was meant to be a happy occasion, but the inherent sadness could hardly be prevented. Victoria was miserable knowing that her twins would never meet their amazing father, instead to be raised as the bastard children of a man who was neither him nor alive. Don Alejandro was saddened at the thought that they weren't his real grandchildren, as he would have wished them to be, despite the circumstances of their procreation. Felipe was still mourning his father but his heart was also burdened by the fact that he could not tell the truth about the twins' real paternity to his grandfather and, perhaps, not even to their mother.

The rest of the people there were divided. Some, who truly believed they were Diego's children, were saddened by the knowledge that the caballero would never get the chance to meet them, not to grow old with the woman he had finally admitted to be in love with, just days before his tragic death. The others, who suspected Don Alejandro was protecting Victoria and the children and that their true father was their masked hero, were also distraught for more than one reason: they were saddened that Victoria was unable to tell the truth, that Don Alejandro had seen no alternative but to assume the responsibility for children who were not his descendants and that Felipe would have to share what Diego had meant to be his inheritance with children who were not his adoptive father's.

The gloomy mood from the church followed the guests to the hacienda, and the 'party' organized was anything but one. People mostly focused on the food and hushed conversations, remembering Diego but unable to abstain from mentioning Zorro.

However, the real reason for the party had nothing to do with the children. In fact, Don Alejandro had mainly planned it as an opportunity to give the dons a real chance to organize. Victoria had come up with the idea, and Felipe had no way of talking some sense into the two stubborn people who were his family. So, as their wives and sons were "enjoying" the party, the oldest, richest people of Los Angeles met in Don Alejandro's office in an effort to come up with a solution to their problems.

"If we don't do something," Don Alejandro tried to convince them "we may lose more than the pueblo and part of our income to the new taxes. And, my friends, we might have another masked avenger, but I doubt he is a true challenge for the new troops. It might be just a matter of time until he is caught and executed by Montalvo."

"My main worry is that list, Alejandro!" One of his closest friends, Don Juaquin, stated. "Tadeo, my vaquero - you surely know him - heard Sergeant Ruiz mentioning that everyone on it were dead men."

"That list is no proof of anything, Juaquin!" The hardest-to-convince of the group, Don Cesar, replied. "If we stay put and don't do anything rash, Montalvo will do the same. It is not in his interest to raise a hand against us. We all have connections, and he will find himself in a very difficult spot if he goes against the dons. We will thrive with Montalvo as long as we pay our taxes and do not make any trouble for him, just as it was the case with the previous ones."

"We 'thrived' with the previous ones only because there was Zorro, always ready to intervene when they were doing something wrong. Not to mention they were so focused on capturing him that they barely paid attention to anything else! That was the main reason why they never bothered us." Don Alvaro emphasized. The man had been one of Zorro's greatest admirers and had spent days searching for him when he went missing.

"And now we have this Angel!" Don Cesar replied.

"Right! An imitator with no chance against the Alcalde!" Don Ponce remarked. "What has he done so far? Anger Montalvo and little else. I, for one, have no intention to keep paying for his acts!"

"Ponce, the man saved my cattle and probably also me and my men!" Don Esteban stated. "Yes, it was better for him to work in the shadows, but Montalvo needed someone to fear just as Ramon and De Soto before him. I think it was brave what he decided to do. But, I also agree with Alejandro. I doubt he'll be much of a challenge for the Alcalde, now that he's received reinforcements."

"I can agree with that! The man is no Zorro! He might employ some of his tactics, but he doesn't look half as strong as Zorro was. And let's not forget that, despite all his skills and tricks, even our Legendary outlaw was, eventually, captured! This Angel's fate will be no better than his, and I am convinced that the reinforcements are a direct result of his activities!" Don Leonel ventured an opinion. "His one accomplishment was to make the Alcalde stronger."

"And to get my daughter and my granddaughter into a real mess!" Don Gerardo added. "Why did he have to interfere? The girl was perfectly fine with the Alcalde and he even allowed Francesca to keep the hacienda."

"I cannot believe you, Gerardo!" Don Leonel intervened. "Would you have really condemned your granddaughter to become his wife?"

"He's young, influential, wealthy enough and seemed to be treating her rather well. It's more than most women get in their husbands!" Gerardo answered. "I know he wouldn't have been her first choice, but it was preferable to death!"

"You can't be serious, my friend!" Don Alejandro exclaimed. "And…You weren't there, but we all saw how your granddaughter took shelter behind El Angel! She either knew and trusted the man, or she didn't and was merely happy for the chance to escape that monster we have ruling the pueblo!"

"She is a stupid girl, Alejandro, who doesn't understand the consequences of her actions. Mateo gave his life for Francesca and their child. Even if I believe what El Angel said about his confession, that he must have been blackmailed, that masked man, whoever he might be, canceled out his sacrifice! Because of him my son-in-law died in vain! Now, if Montalvo captures them, I'll lose them both, just like I lost my son-in-law." Don Gerardo replied bitterly. "None of you did anything for him then, so why should I become part of your scheming now? How can I even trust you will help me if my daughter and Ana-Cristina are captured?" Gerardo asked.

"It is true, Gerardo. Not helping Mateo was our biggest mistake but… we were all too shocked when it happened. We should have organized sooner but, even so, we need to be ready the next time." Don Ponce replied.

"Exactly! My friends, don't you see that when Montalvo executed Mateo, we have all become targets? He found a way to do it and justify his actions." Don Juaquin pointed out.

"You're the military man, Alejandro! What do you expect us to do?" Don Alvaro asked after pondering on what was being said.

"Resist, my friends. I want to organize a resistance to his tyrannical rule. Angel or no Angel, we need to start being prepared to intervene! For ourselves, for our lands, and, most of all, for our families. That is what's at stake while that man rules the pueblo, and God only knows if and when any change is to come for us." Don Alejandro replied. "We should have organized years ago, when Zorro first started riding, but we were cowards then and preferred to let him take all the risks. It is because of our cowardice that that extraordinary man died as he did! But we can't go on being cowards. We need to take matters into our own hands! We must arm and organize our men. We must be prepared to truly challenge the Alcalde; to intervene when he and his men are committing abuses and to keep him in check."

"What you are proposing is suicidal, Alejandro!" Don Gerardo dismissed his idea.

"No… I believe he's right!" Don Esteban stated. "As you said, Gerardo, Montalvo already killed Mateo. He was your son-in-law and we did nothing to help him. We need to make sure the next time he tries to raise a hand against us, we are prepared to prevent him from doing so!"

"I, also, agree with Alejandro. We can no longer stand by. Together we have more men at our command than Montalvo, even with his reinforcements." Don Baltasar answered. "If I am to remain in Los Angeles, as Alejandro managed to convince me, I need to feel safe, and I would only feel safe if I knew I have my friends to count on!"

"Organize? Ha!" Don Cesar dismissed the idea. "Organize what? Vaqueros and stable hands? What challenge will they be to him?"

"Most of the men are more than capable of offering the lancers a run for their money." Don Ponce agreed with Don Alejandro. "However, I am not sure they will be willing to endanger their lives and their families by joining our fight and our power over them only goes so far!"

"They won't! Not unless we also fight for them and everyone else!" Don Alejandro answered. "Take over Zorro's mantle ourselves. That is what I am suggesting."

"Easy for you to talk!" Don Cezar retorted. "What are you risking? I have three sons, a daughter and eight grandchildren. Your sons are both dead and no matter how much you try to convince us, nobody truly believes Senorita Victoria's children are Diego's!"

"Of course, they are!" Don Alejandro hurried to reply, sensing his temper rising.

It was at that moment that Don Juaquin and Don Alvaro intervened, trying to calm down the other dons and try to reach a solution to their problems. Their debate went on for another hour, focusing on their parent's legacies and the future generation, on the relevance of the poor farmers and their obligations towards the other citizens of the pueblo, on the weapons each of them possessed, their experience with them and how many men they had and could count on. However, the only conclusion drawn by the end of that meeting was that while working on organizing a resistance, they should also find effective peaceful ways to avoid a direct confrontation with the Alcalde. A future meeting was also agreed upon, due to take place on the afternoon of December 25th, during the traditional Christmas Eve Party at the De la Vega Hacienda. With Martial Law still in effect and public gatherings forbidden, parties thrown in celebration of special events were the only ones where enough people could meet, without breaking any law.

ZZZ

In all this time, Ulises and La Independencia had made their way towards California. Having stopped for provisions and a replacement of the Alcalde in San Diego, the two ships separated when most of the crew on Ulises fell prey to a severe case of food poisoning. With the twin brothers' medical services needed to help the crew of the commercial vessel, La Independencia left and made its way north, leaving the people onboard the other vessel - including the Governor and twenty men who had stayed behind to guard him – to remain a few more days in the Californian outpost.


	22. A good day

Christmas Eve… This will be a good day! Montalvo thought that morning, as he was looking towards the tavern from the window in his office. The previous night he had decided on his perfect trap for El Angel and now, as the morning came, he was certain that his enemy's career was to end that very day. Forgotten was his list and his former plans. What he had now was even better: concrete evidence and a plan to get everything he wanted in one day. Indeed, on that day, not only would he get rid of the masked avenger who had stolen the woman he wanted to make his, but also rid himself, once and for all, of all those still resisting his rule and, at the same time, get his hands on all the best lands in Los Angeles. If I could only decide which hacienda to choose as my new home! The De la Vega would be the most… adequate… Too bad my lancers had destroyed so much while conducting their searches! On the other hand… I will have enough money to replace everything I want, and to my own taste! The Alcalde considered, getting ahead of himself.

It was about nine in the morning, and he smiled viciously as he saw the taverness and Felipe come by coach to town, accompanied by a new servant woman, hired to help with the children.

"The soon-to-be orphaned children." Montalvo mused to himself at seeing the women carrying the babies into the tavern.

Felipe looked grim, lost in his thoughts, and didn't seem to pay much attention to anything.

He probably senses he's about to become a servant again, soon enough. The Alcalde thought at noticing his inquietude and headed to his desk.

"Ruiz!" He called and the man entered only a few moments later.

"Si, Alcalde!" The Sergeant replied.

"Take your men, as we've already discussed, and make the arrests. I want everyone here by noon!"

"Si Comandante!" His faithful man answered and hurried to do as he had ordered, his men taking a barred prison wagon with them as they were leaving the cuartel.

"What's going on, Corporal?" Mendoza asked his former right-hand man at seeing them leave from the tavern's terrace.

"I don't know Sergeant…I mean, Senor Mendoza. Perhaps they need to bring some bandits from San Pedro or Santa Paula."

"Shouldn't you also be on patrol instead of staying here, not ordering anything?" Mendoza inquired.

"Not today. The Alcalde ordered us all in the pueblo. We are all free until eleven when he wants us all in the cuartel."

The morning was quite slow, to the former Sergeant's disappointment, and he could not help but wondering and worry about everything Montalvo was doing. Mendoza, just like everyone else, had cheered when El Angel appeared. For the first time in months, he was also happy that he was no longer a lancer to have to fight their new masked avenger. On the other hand, he had, by then, just like the other Los Angelinos, realized that the new Alcalde was far more greedy, ambitious, unscrupulous, and dangerous than his predecessors. The bloodied wall across the plaza from the tavern, riddled with bullets, was nothing if not proof of that, as were the two pillars erected in the middle of the plaza to be used for the floggings and the gallows the man had ordered to be built in front of the bank and left there permanently, as a constant reminder of what might befall anyone who crossed him.

A few minutes before noon, Sepulveda and his other men emerged from the cuartel, where the lancers had been receiving their instructions. While the other lancers took position around the plaza, the abovementioned corporal headed to the tavern where he nailed up an announcement.

"A new tax?" Victoria wondered as she closed the register she was studying at the moment and headed for the tavern's entrance to see, just like others in the tavern, what the announcement was about. "A new law? Stating that only direct descendants are allowed to claim inheritances? And that the claim must be made within three days of the death of the person whose possessions are due to be inherited? Last will and testaments are not to be taken into consideration? What in the world is the Alcalde up to this time?" She wondered at reading the announcement.

"I don't know, Senorita… But this new law takes away any chance for Felipe to be Don Alejandro's heir." Mendoza pointed out as Victoria looked directly at the young man she loved as both a brother and another son.

"We… We have to do something. This is absurd! And three days to claim an inheritance when many people have relatives living at least three days away from here?" She fumed.

Felipe chose that moment to put a hand on her shoulder, attempting to calm her down. He knew very well that he was not in a position to help her, should she do something rash. Instantly, however, he also knew he had the perfect way to distract her and that it was right to finally share with her some truths she needed to know.

So, signaling that he wanted to talk to her, the young man tried to get her to follow him into the tavern, just as the stagecoach from San Pedro arrived, closely followed by four riders. The five elegantly-dressed passengers who emerged from the coach, three men and two women, who immediately attracted everyone's attention, saluted with a nod at passing by them and entering the tavern, where they took seats at an empty table. Two of the riders dismounted and followed them inside, the other two heading for a table on the terrace after tying all the four horses to the post in front of the tavern.

Intrigued, Victoria and Mendoza also entered the taproom intrigued by the sense of familiarity the people from the stagecoach inspired in them. Of course, the taverness was also distracted by the baby the younger of the two women was carrying in her arms and who seemed to be the just as small as her own children.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" She wasted no time in asking, with a smile, when the five people sat down.

"A boy." Vanesa answered with a similar grin. "Hello! My name is Vanesa." She then introduced herself. "This little treasure here is Diego Emmanuel, my son, and this is our family: Don Emmanuel, my son's great-grandfather, Don Juan Carlos, his great-uncle, and Dona Carolina, his great-aunt. And this gentleman is Don Arturo Torrente Cela."

"Encantada senroes, senoras!" Victoria answered politely. "I am Victoria Escalante, the owner of this tavern."

"A pleasure, Senorita!" The Governor answered and the other men bowed their heads to greet her again.

"My son's middle name is also Diego." She couldn't help herself from sharing but didn't catch the glance the other people shared among themselves.

"You also have a son?" Juan Carlos asked.

"And a daughter." Victoria confirmed. "They are twins. Mine are one month old. How old is he?"

"Almost the same. He was born on the 30th of November." Vanesa answered.

"Mine on November 24th." Victoria told them. "May I hold him?"

"Only if you let us see your children." Dona Carolina replied with a grin, certain that no mother would willingly separate herself from her newborn babies by more than a few feet.

"Of course!" Victoria agreed and went to the kitchen where the servant was looking after her sleeping twins, only to emerge a few moments later under the concerned gaze of Felipe, who was watching the entire interaction from the bar, while drinking a glass of lemonade Mendoza had served him just before the announcement had been posted outside the tavern's door.

"This is Alejandrito" Victoria introduced her son "and this is Elena."

Felipe did not miss the new glance the strangers shared but had no idea what to make of it. Carolina took Elena in her arms while the men were all staring at little Alejandrito and Victoria picked up Dieguito from his mother's arms, for a moment wondering if she hadn't, by mistake, picked up her own son instead.

"They look almost identical!" Juan Carlos couldn't help but notice, as Vanesa picked up her nephew, referring to the two boys.

"All babies look the same at this age, I guess." Victoria gave a clueless answer, then startled and turned her attention towards the door at hearing the commotion in the plaza. "What now?" She asked, suddenly remembering the announcement posted next to her doorway and looking inquisitively towards Felipe and Mendoza, who wasted no time in stepping on the terrace.

The three men also rose from their seats at hearing the commotion and headed towards the doorway. Victoria and Vanesa, unwilling to be excluded, instinctively exchanged the babies in their arms and, Carolina still holding Elena, Victoria's servant on their heels, followed the men outside.

ZZZ

"We must do something!" Ana-Cristina pointed out as she was pacing in the cave, her entire body trembling.

Just minutes earlier the Alcalde's men had forced their way into the hacienda and arrested Don Alejandro. He protested the arrest, and Sergeant Ruiz had slapped him, leaving him motionless on the floor, then dragged him out as two of his servants in vain tried to help him. They heard the noises made by the prison wagon and the other dons complaining about the brutal treatment of their friend. Dona Francesca also thought to have heard her father's voice but her main concern was her daughter, who had taken one of Felipe's swords and ran towards the secret entrance, only to stop because Felipe had never allowed her to see what needed to be done to open it. That gave her mother enough time to pull her back into the cave, doing her best to remind her that Felipe told them that more than his life and theirs were at stake, should they put one foot outside their secret lair.

"Yes… But how can we help? Felipe told us to remain here, no matter what." Dona Francesca explained to her. "If we try to help we might end up only hindering him."

"He will not stand for this, and he is not in costume. I should take it to him! I will disguise Tornado and take him and his things into the pueblo!" Her daughter decided.

"No!" The older woman grabbed her arm. "You risk being seen and get him in even more trouble! And… What chance does he stand if he confronts fifty of Montalvo's men? We need to give him the chance of rescuing his grandfather just like he did with your father."

"Don't you see, Mother? He will confront them, anyway! I know it! He will not stand by and allow the Alcalde to mistreat Don Alejandro! At least, while wearing a mask his identity is protected. Right now, he is unarmed and with no Tornado to help him! I can't just stand here waiting to find out…"

At that precise moment, before getting to say what she was intended on saying, they heard the back entrance open. Firmly convinced Felipe had returned to change, both of them turned, smiling expectantly towards the narrow passage leading towards the hills, each subtly also eyeing the clothes he needed and the white hair for Tornado's disguise, preparing to help him make himself ready as quickly as possible. That smile faded a few moments later when they laid eyes on the two bearded monks who entered the cave on foot, stopping in their tracks at seeing them there.

For what felt to all of them like minutes, neither of the four people said a word, until one of the monks spoke with a familiar voice.

"Dona Francesca? Senorita Ana-Cristina? What are you doing here? Where is Felipe?" He asked, as the other one just stared at them inquisitively.

"Who… Who are you?" Dona Francesca asked, taking a step forward to put herself in front of her daughter.

The monk who spoke took off his fake beard and his hood, to reveal himself, as both women forgot to breathe for a moment.

"Diego? Oh, thank God! You are alive!" Dona Francesca uttered as the second monk did the same to reveal an identical face.

Now the two women were oscillating between joy and confusion.

"This is Dario. He is my real twin brother." Diego made the introductions as Dario nodded his salute. "We found each other in Madrid… But that's a long story. Am I correct to assume your daughter is the young senorita whom the new Alcalde intended to marry?" He asked Francesca and both women simply nodded, still confused and wondering if that conversation was real or just a wishful dream. "Am I also correct to assume that my son is the one they call El Angel de Los Angeles?"

The mother and daughter nodded again. "He wanted to carry on your fight." Francesca clarified. "Good Lord… Diego, he is in danger!" She uttered, just now recovering enough to remember what had happened not twenty minutes before the unexpected arrival "And so is your father. Montalvo's men just arrested him, and Felipe is in the pueblo, helping with tonight's party… but he is unarmed and all his things are here!"

"When did they take my father?" Diego asked, glancing at his brother, as both of them rapidly discarded their robes to reveal their black Zorro costumes.

"About fifteen or twenty minutes ago, I think. Might be more…" Dona Francesca answered, glancing towards her daughter for confirmation.

"Alright." He tried to calm them down as he headed towards his desk and taking something from a hidden compartment, then putting it in his pocket. "We'll take care of Montalvo once and for all. Meanwhile, you are safe to leave the cave, if you want. California belongs to Mexico, I am no longer a wanted man, and the Governor is already in the pueblo with the rest of our family, looking forward to replacing the Alcalde with my father. You no longer have anything to fear." He assured them, just then realizing that the reports mentioned that the woman Montalvo was intended to marry was the daughter of an executed don. "I'm just sorry I wasn't there in time to save Mateo." He continued apologetically as he turned to saddle Tornado.

"Felipe saved Father!" Ana-Cristina told him, and it was his turn to look incredulously at them.

"He did?" Diego asked with a broad smile.

"He is alive but he went to Santa Barbara. We were supposed to join him there as soon as it was safe to leave Los Angeles."

"Your son must be as extraordinary a man as you described him, brother!" Dario concluded.

"You also have another son." Francesca informed him. "And a daughter. Victoria had twins."

Diego glanced at her as his face became the purest expression of happiness, as a grinning Dario padded him on the shoulder.

"Are they healthy?" Diego inquired. "Are they at the tavern?" He continued to question.

"Yes, they are healthy and, from what we heard earlier, they should be at the tavern with their mother. And Don Alejandro thinks they look just like you, despite neither him nor Victoria knowing that they truly are yours. Felipe convinced your father to say they were… so that Victoria might not be considered… your accomplice… It's so strange that you are Zorro. I've known for a while, but I'm still getting my head around it!" Dona Francesca did her best to explain.

Diego smiled and looked at her gratefully, then took out Tornado as Dario brought in a white stallion to leave in Tornado's stall.

"We are leaving Alas here." Diego informed them, indicating the white stallion as he mounted Tornado, and his brother exited again to mount the other black steed. "He's Felipe's present. Please see to it that he has enough food and water and then, if you want, ask one of the stablemen to get you into town or just borrow a couple of my father's horses." Diego indicated as he was putting on his mask. A few seconds later, Zorro left the cave and, followed by the second Zorro, made his way towards Los Angeles.

ZZZ

The Alcalde exited his office just as the noise in the plaza was indicating that his men returned with their prisoners and a crowd was forming, eager to find out what was he up to.

"Ah! Don Alejandro, Don Gerardo, Don Juaquin, Don Baltasar, Don Ponce, Don Esteban, Don Leonel, and Don Alvaro. Everybody is here. How good of all of you to join us!" He greeted the men in the barred wagon.

"What is the meaning of this, Alcalde?" Don Alejandro asked.

"Why are we under arrest?" Don Baltasar supported him.

"For treachery and rebellious activities, of course! I'm sure you must, at least, have suspected the reasons for which I sent my men to bring you in, just as I am sure you know very well that you are guilty!" Montalvo answered.

"Guilty? Guilty of what?" Don Alejandro retorted. "Guilty of deciding to stand up to your tyranny? We are only guilty of not having done it sooner!"

"I can see who your grandson takes after." The Governor remarked in a low voice to Don Emmanuel, Mendoza the only one to overhear him and wonder who they were talking about.

Don Emmanuel did not reply, just smiled proudly, looking forward to seeing what happens.

"So you admit it! Excellent! But I am afraid that I have no intention of giving you the opportunity to act on your treacherous intentions." Montalvo replied to Don Alejandro.

"I just hope they won't be too long, or I'll have to spoil a perfectly planned surprise to save my new Alcalde." The Governor continued while signaling to his men to stand ready to intervene, and both the Count and his son nodded in agreement.

A few moments later, Don Cesar exited the Alcalde's office, heading towards the prison wagon.

Felipe, realizing the betrayal, felt powerless, just watching the events unfolding and hoping a helpful idea may come to him soon.

"You traitor!" Don Gerardo uttered hatefully at seeing the other don.

"I told you I have too much to lose in your little schemes!" Don Cesar replied.

"Now… Who wants to be the second one to receive the flogging?" The Alcalde questioned with a grin. "Don Alejandro, I believe, already offered to be the first."

"You can't do this Alcalde!" Victoria protested, holding her son tightly in her arms. "You have no evidence of any wrongdoing! And…Even if you did, they deserve a fair trial, before receiving any sort of punishment!"

"And I understand why my nephew fell in love with her!" Juan Carlos remarked with a smile, shared by everyone else in their group, confusing the poor Mendoza even more.

"Senorita Escalante! How good of you to remind me of your presence!" The Alcalde uttered, moving his attention towards her. "I do believe you are offering to be flogged alongside Don Alejandro!" He ascertained, signing to his Sergeant to tie her up to one of the posts.

"What? Wait! She has no part in this! Why are you arresting her?" Don Alejandro protested as Felipe realized his options were diminishing by the minute.

"Conspiring with an outlaw and having his children." Montalvo stated while Victoria, who had left her son with the young servant, was protesting, asking his men to let her go. "You see, Don Cesar, here, also informed me that she had made no mention of her liaison with your son until two months after he died, which was also, coincidentally, when his wife started noticing signs that she was pregnant. You might as well admit those children are not your grandsons!"

"That is absurd! Her children are Diego's! If my son was alive he would tell you himself!" Don Alejandro underlined.

"And he will. It's funny how they seem to believe they contradict each other…" Juan Carlos remarked with some amusement to his small audience and one extremely confused eavesdropping former Sergeant, as Don Alejandro was being tied up next to Victoria.

Felipe was watching, with increasing concern the turn of events, realizing he could not stand by and allow for his grandfather and the woman he loved as a mother to be whipped. Accepting there was no other course of action, he gazed around to notice Juan Carlos' sword. The man was standing close to him, only his wife and Mendoza between them, but the young don had not paid any attention to the newly arrived since he saw Don Alejandro in the prison wagon. Having made his decision, with a quick move, Felipe deprived Juan Carlos of his sword, before the don even realized that he was doing it and, rapidly taking a few steps towards the Alcalde, he put the sword at his neck.


	23. Resurrected and multiplied

"What are you doing, servant boy?" Montalvo asked with an air of amused superiority when he saw Felipe pointing a sword at his neck.

Don Alejandro and Victoria looked at him at the same time, both sighing in surprise, their eyes widened with dread.

"Put down that sword, Felipe, and stand back!" His Grandfather asked him. "It's not worth forfeiting your life!"

Just then, one of the lancers raised a musket to fire at the young De la Vega, and a shot was heard, but all that happened was for the one pointed at Felipe to fly from the hands of his confused holder. His senses heightened by the realization he was probably going to die that day, Felipe reacted, just like everyone else, looking in the direction from whence he heard the shot. His gesture did not remain unnoticed by the Alcalde.

"You heard that! We all saw you!" Montalvo remarked as everyone returned their gaze towards the young man. "You can hear!"

"I can speak, as well!" Felipe told him and the Alcalde's eyes grew wide at the discovery and what it meant.

"You… It's you! You're El Angel!" He stated with a broad, incredulous smile which made him look like a madman. "You will hang!"

"What? No! This can't be happening!" Don Alejandro muttered, only hoping to die before having to also bury his grandson. "Felipe!"

"Fine. But if I die, so will you!" The young man answered calmly as Montalvo's smile faded. "Tell your men to let my grandfather and Victoria go!" He indicated, but another shot distracted him for long enough to allow the Alcalde to step away and draw his sword.

"Let's see if you are still so certain of that when I defeat you in battle!" He stated, challenging his adversary.

Felipe saluted, and a duel started as silence descended on the plaza.

Another lancer tried to shoot in defense of his commander, and a whip disarmed him this time, as Zorro came riding in.

"We wouldn't want to interrupt now, would we?" He asked the puzzled soldier, his wicked grin on his face, as he guided his horse towards the combatants. While doing so, the black-clad man also raised his right hand as if to indicate someone to wait, completely ignoring the other muskets pointed at him.

True, the lancers, just as almost everyone else in the pueblo, were too stunned to see him and even a task as easy as pressing a trigger was too much for them to handle in that state. "You may proceed, Senores." He invited the two duelers, who had paused their fight at seeing him, smiling broadly at Felipe, than glancing at his son's adversary. "I must confess I'm rather curious to see how fast he can defeat you, Montalvo!"

"You're not the real Zorro!" The man retorted, trying to mainly convince his baffled men. "That outlaw is dead! But I wouldn't mind burying more than one masked man today! Just let me finish with this ingrate and I'll be happy to also give you a lesson!"

As he said that, he started a combined attack. Felipe, encouraged by the miraculous appearance of his father, and despite the fact that his caramel eyes were already filled with tears, rapidly parried Montalvo's thrusts and replied with his own combined attack.

With the fight restarted, trusting his son was more than capable of defeating the Spanish official, Zorro guided Tornado towards the posts and cut the ropes holding both Victoria and his father, then returned to the combatants, just as Felipe executed a perfect Redoublement which caused his adversary to lose his sword.

"Three minutes. Felipe, you have become quite the swordsman!" Zorro congratulated him with a smile, just as Ana-Cristina and her mother were riding into the plaza.

Felipe's own smile froze at seeing them, unsure if their presence was a good thing or just one more problem since he, himself, had no idea how they would all get out of their predicament, even if he had won the fight, and Diego had unexpectedly been resurrected. He also knew his father disapproved of killings and was certain to stop him from thrusting his sword through the evil man's heart. The young man wasn't sure he could do it, either.

So, when the woman he loved hurried to embrace him, while her mother, taking advantage of the lancers' distraction, stole the key and let the dons out of the barred wagon, the adopted De la Vega just stared expectantly at his father, unsure what to do next.

The Alcalde looked towards the young couple remarking that, even if Felipe had his sword at his throat, they were still surrounded by his lancers.

Some of the lancers under Ruiz's command, finally getting over their surprise, raised their muskets, pointing them at Zorro and at Felipe, waiting for Montalvo's orders.

"You are not the real Zorro!" Montalvo insisted. "The real Zorro was executed!"

"Oh, but I am the real Zorro!" The black-clad man replied with a sly grin, then became serious. "See Alcalde, you will find that, when my people are threatened, I'm like the monster in the myth. Cut one head…"

"…and two will grow in its place." Another Zorro, mounted on another black stallion, his visible features and his voice identical to the first Zorro's, completed his statement.

"Two Zorros?" Mendoza asked at seeing them, as everyone was confusedly glancing between the two men.

"Or, in this case…" The first Zorro continued.

"…many." The second one stated as ten more Zorros appeared on the roofs of the nearby buildings, and in the nearby streets, muskets at hand, each targeting a different lancer.

"One, two..five.." Mendoza counted "…twelve Zorros?"

While it was hard for the people in the plaza to be certain, from a distance, all the other men dressed in black seemed to look the same as the first two: their clothes, their masks and hats, even their moustaches. Indeed for all those watching, they all looked like duplicates of the first one. Even Felipe was alternatively glancing between the two brothers, unsure what exactly had happened that caused him to see double.

"W… What is this?" Montalvo asked, his voice trembling with fear as everyone was watching with wide-opened eyes.

"As Felipe has proven, whenever there's injustice, there will always be those willing to fight against it, no matter what the cost." The first Zorro replied.

"So, this, Alcalde, is an Army of Foxes here to bring about your demise!" The second Zorro stated.

Montalvo was not, however, prepared to surrender, certainly not with fifty men under his command.

"What are you waiting for?" Montalvo asked, noticing Lieutenant Guzman's men were not reacting.

Felipe looked at the first Zorro, whom he suspected to be his father, and he answered him with a smile indicating that they had the upper hand and there was nothing to fear.

"Take aim!" Guzman simply ordered and the lancers who were not being targeted by the Zorros soon found themselves at the end of the muskets raised by the Lieutenant's men.

"What are your men doing, Lieutenant?" The Alcalde asked, noticing their actions.

"As I had already told you, Montalvo, my men and I were sent here to put an end to any and all rebellious activities in the area. At the moment, as a Spanish official in a Mexican territory, you represent the rebellious forces, so we are simply following the Governor's instructions." Guzman answered calmly, to everyone's surprise.

"My instructions, to be more precise." Don Arturo pointed out from the tavern's terrace.

"You are not the Governor!" Montalvo uttered.

"I most certainly am. As the Lieutenant just mentioned, this territory now belongs to Mexico, Montalvo. I am the new Governor of California and these are my men. The ones Fresquez had sent either switched sides and joined our ranks, or are on their way to Spain, just like the former Governor must be by now. I do, however, have to say I don't envy him. I understand King Ferdinand is quite unforgiving these days with those who fail him in any way." Don Arturo stated with a devious smile. "Zorros, I believe it is time for you to arrest this man!" He then indicated to his black-clad soldiers. "Don't worry, Capitan! The Lieutenant and his men will see to it that you get a fair trial, followed by a quick hanging. As for you, men," he directed toward the Los Angeles lancers "those of you who did Montalvo's bidding will also receive a fair trial to determine your guilt. As for the others, put down your weapons, and I will give you the choice to either join the Mexican Army or return to Spain, unharmed."

Sepulveda and his lancers lay down their weapons, while Sergeant Ruiz and the other two men who had accompanied Montalvo from Monterey, reacting like caged animals, tried one more move, taking aim at the Governor.

They did not get to shoot, though, as the Zorros mounted on the black stallions rapidly used their whips to disarm two of them, while the Sergeant was shot dead by one of the black-clad men positioned on the roof of the chapel. Not wasting anymore time, the Zorros who were on the ground, near the plaza, hurriedly arrested the Alcalde and the other two men, taking them to prison.

"Don Alejandro!" The Governor addressed the older man as Montalvo was being taken away. "I understand you would be a good choice for Alcalde of Los Angeles. However, to appoint you, you'd need to pledge yourself to the new state, just as it's expected of all officials appointed by the Mexican authorities."

At hearing his words, Don Alejandro glanced at Victoria - who he was holding at the moment, in an effort to protect her -, then at Felipe - who was holding the young woman he loved -, his eyes eventually resting on the first Zorro, who had, meanwhile, dismounted from his stallion to stand some ten feet away from him.

"Is it true? Did King Ferdinand try to execute you in that barbaric way?" He asked his son.

Zorro nodded. "He did."

"Then I owe that cruel man no loyalty!" Don Alejandro answered, confident in his decision. "I am willing to take the oath, Your Excellency, as long as that means we are not going to be submitted to anymore cruel treatments and injustices." He continued, as the crowd gathered around him cheered.

"I am counting on you to make sure of that, Alcalde." The Governor stated, smiling at him.

"You may stop pointing that sword at the air." Zorro told Felipe who was too numb to properly react to the events.

"Is it really you?" The young man eventually asked his father.

"Did I not tell you I would return if I could do so, no matter how long it would take?"

At that statement, Felipe let go of his beloved and hurried into his father's open arms.

"How are you alive?" The young man asked.

"De Soto… he sacrificed himself to save me. Died in my place. Had it not been for him, I would not be standing here!" He answered, his eyes betraying the gratitude Diego was now feeling towards his former nemesis. "When did you recover your voice?"

"When I felt like screaming at finding out you had been executed!" His son answered.

"I'm so proud of you, Felipe! Of everything you have achieved!" He told the younger man as Victoria and Don Alejandro were also nearing them, confused about their closeness. "However, I do think you should now give that saber back to your uncle, since you no longer need it!" His father instructed him, and the young man's expression became inquisitive as he turned towards the man from whom he had taken the weapon.

Don Alejandro, hearing Zorro's statement did the same, but it took him a few moments to recognize the people he had not seen in so many years, standing next to the Governor. "Count? Juan Carlos? Is that really you? What on Earth are you doing here?" He asked.

"I, too, got aggravated with the King, for the same reason as you, Alejandro. Therefore, I decided to leave Spain, and these two wanted to keep an eye on me so I had to take them along." Don Emmanuel answered, referring to his son and daughter-in-law. "I was also quite annoyed with you losing my grandsons and felt the need to tell you how I feel about that, in person!"

"De Soto saved you?" Victoria, who was not really able to hear much over the pounding of her heart, asked the first Zorro, as she let go of Don Alejandro and headed towards the man she loved.

Father and son also parted as she neared them.

"It's a long story, but yes. Ignacio sacrificed himself to save me." He reiterated, as the second Zorro was also climbing down from his horse.

"And you are back?"

"I am."

"And you can finally take off that mask? Be with me?"

"I can…"

"And the Governor will not harm you when you do? If everyone finds out who you are?"

"I already know who he is, Senorita." Don Arturo replied in his place, as everyone turned their attention towards him. "He is a Legend and a hero in the eyes of the Mexican Government; the man who saved the people in the village I grew up in, my family included; the one whose respect for human life ended up saving us months of unnecessary battles for independence; one of the very rare people for whom an enemy would end up willingly laying down his life… and my new Deputy Governor."

At that statement, Zorro raised the eyes he had, so far, kept on the nearing Victoria to inquiringly look at him.

"I know we haven't discussed it, but I'm not willing to take a 'No' for an answer, so I don't see the point of debating the issue. You may, of course, remain in Los Angeles and we'll figure out a way to adequately divide our responsibilities towards the people of California." Don Arturo explained and Zorro just took a deep breath and found himself offering him a smile and a nod of agreement, to which more enthusiastic cheers engulfed the plaza.

"Victoria, what is this I hear about children?" He questioned as soon as he could hear his own voice again, looking right into her eyes.

"We are parents, mi amor!" She answered as Don Alejandro bowed his head, knowing he would no longer be able to pretend the twins were his grandchildren, although, he was also secretly relieved they would have the chance to be raised by their real father.

Turning towards Dona Catalina and the servant, who were holding their babies at that moment, Victoria motioned for them to come near.

"The boy is named Alejandro Diego Alfonso and the girl's name is Elena Victoria Maria. I would have given them your parents' names…your name, but I never knew them."

"And yet you did, anyway." He replied with a distracted smile as he took off his gloves to lovingly caress his children's face, his brother getting closer to look at his nephews.

Victoria was just looking at him with even more confusion at his statement, then pensively glanced between Felipe and Don Alejandro.

"Do you still love me?" Zorro asked as her eyes returned to rest on him.

"Of course, I do! Never doubt that!... How… How do you feel about me?"

"I love you, Victoria… with all my heart. Now and always." He quoted the love declaration with which he had ended his parting letter.

As her eyes grew bigger at recognizing the words and tears came falling down from them, she took her hands to the knot keeping his mask in place, and he no longer protested as she untied it, letting the black silk slip off to reveal his face.

"Diego." She simply stated, as if the reveal did no more than confirm what her heart already knew, then fell into his arms, claiming his lips in an effort to make sure she wasn't dreaming, while everything and everyone around them seemed frozen in that moment. "How?" Victoria wondered as they parted looking into his eyes, which belonged, just like her children's eyes, to both the men she loved; both men who miraculously returned to the realm of the living and merged into one.

"It's a long story," he answered, his eyes filled with love for her, then looked towards his father "and before I tell it to you, Father, there are a few people I'd like you to meet."

The old don just stared at his resurrected son and nodded, his right hand on his mouth, tears gushing down his cheeks, as he was unable to take his eyes away from Diego's face.

Mendoza reacted exactly the same way.

Diego turned towards the still-masked Zorro by his side, glancing between him and Don Alejandro.

"This is Dario. He was raised by a good woman, who rescued him from her sister. He had a good life, and he is a doctor, a husband, a father and one of the best men I was ever given the privilege of meeting." He said as his brother grinned at him, grateful for his words. "Vanesa" he looked towards the woman standing on the tavern's terrace with her son in her arms "is his wife and mother to his one-month-old son." As he said that and the young woman closed in on them, reaching to put a supporting left arm around her husband's waist, the other Zorro also untied his mask, taking it off and looking expectantly towards his father. "He is also your son and my real twin brother." Diego stated as Don Alejandro was now confusingly glancing between his two almost identical sons.

"M….my son…My sons are alive!" Don Alejandro eventually reacted, feeling too weak to stand, as Juan Carlos came to support him. "Thank you!" He uttered, gratefully at his brother-in-law, "But I'm alright… Diego…you are not dead. But… but I saw your body! And you are Zorro? The real Zorro? Victoria's twins… they really are your children? My grandchildren? And I also have another grandchild from…from you…my son? My real son?"

"Yes, Father… to all your questions." Diego answered as the old don was doubting whom to embrace first.

"It also took us a while to get our heads around all of this!" Juan Carlos tried to encourage Don Alejandro.

"That's why the boys look alike!" Victoria realized, happily glancing towards Vanessa.

"Yes. They most certainly do look a lot like each other." Diego confirmed, he too having easily noticed the resemblance between little Dieguito and little Alejandrito. "Will you finally marry me, Victoria?" He asked, taking the emerald and diamond ring out from his pocket and offering it back to her.

"You took it? So I didn't know who you were?" She questioned.

"Yes."

"Why did you do it?"

"Because, at the time, it seemed like the right thing to do to for both you and my father. Can you forgive me?"

"All you did…you did for us, didn't you?"

"I would move mountains for you, if I had to."

"You did more than that! You returned to us! There is nothing to forgive, my love." She decided, as she offered him her hand so that he could place the ring back on her finger. "Of course, I'll marry you! Anytime, anywhere!"

"How about now and here?"

Victoria nodded, crying and laughing at the same time, as she reached to kiss him again.

"I think that part should come after the ceremony, Diego!" His Grandfather pointed out and the two parted with a chuckle, their eyes still on each other.

"So… My son is Zorro… my other son is a doctor… they are both alive… my grandson is El Angel… and I have three other grandchildren and a daughter-in-law… and Victoria is also to become my daughter-in-law… and I am Alcalde, and there is no more tyranny and you are also here…" Don Alejandro did his math, ending by looking towards his father-in-law and his own son and daughter-in-law. "If Montalvo had me executed, and this is the afterlife, I am grateful to the man. If this is reality, though, I think this is going to be the best Christmas in our family's history!" He concluded, now feeling strong enough to head towards his boys and hug them both at once. "I'll never again let any of you go!" He stated as he raised his head and placed his hands on their faces, making sure they were real. "Just one more thing, Diego." He then asked, noticing some of the other Zorros who were still standing on the rooftops. "Those men are not also your twin brothers, are they? Because, if they are, we might need a bigger hacienda!"


	24. The best Christmas I

"Dear Francisco and Ramón,"

"I was happy to hear you are reunited and I really hope I might see you soon, so that you might meet your niece and nephew. I am so looking forward to seeing you both!

"Truth be told, I don't really know where to begin this letter. There is so much I want to tell you, but I don't know what I should tell you first.

"You already know about your niece and nephew, I wrote about Alejandro and Elena in my previous letters to you. They are both healthy and look just like their father: black-haired and blue-eyed (no mustache on either one yet, though).

"As you also know, I had a very difficult time after they were born. They really do look so much like their father, and he was all I could think about whenever I held them in my arms. I never thought I would see him again. In fact, for a few moments there, yesterday, I didn't even believe I might live to see another day. But today is a new day, I am alive, and so is the man I love. My husband.

"But I am getting ahead of myself, and I still don't know how to do this. I don't even know everything yet.

"All I know is that I have never been happier in my entire life.

"Yesterday could have been a very bad day. The Alcalde decided to execute me, Don Alejandro and several other dons. He accused Don Alejandro and his friends of having conspired against him. Which, in all fairness, they did. As they should have! He also accused me of having been Zorro's accomplice, stating he was the father of my children. Which is also true, to be fair. Yes, I know I wrote you they were Diego's children and, although I lied in those letters for fear they might be intercepted and, thus, constitute my death warrant, turns out I didn't really lie.

"This is really complicated but, before I continue telling you what happened, I need to tell you some other things or you will not make sense of a word I say.

"Therefore, this is what you should know:

"Diego is Zorro, and he faked his own death so that nobody suspected him of being Zorro when De Soto captured him. Zorro's capture was, in fact, staged by Diego and De Soto, since the former Alcalde had found out who he truly was and used me, his father and Felipe to blackmail him into accompanying him back to Spain to hand him over to the King.

"On their way to Spain, Diego, with De Soto's help, apparently, saved a few people, including some villagers who turned out to be the family and friends of the new Mexican Governor of California. (of course, he was not a Governor at the time, nor did they know they were helping the people in his village. He just decided to help some people who were in trouble.) Diego also saved De Soto a few times and, after traveling together for so long, the former Alcalde ended up seeing him as a friend. Yes, I was also shocked, but what comes next it's even more shocking, trust me!

"Even if thinking of him as a friend, De Soto handed him over to the King, who still believes his name was Salvador Gilarranz (which is the alias he used). Anyway, King Ferdinand had him fight twenty of his soldiers to prove who he was and, as you must have already read in my previous letter, sentenced him to receive fifty lashes and to suffer death by disembodiment.

"While he was in prison, however, awaiting execution (I can't even imagine what he must have gone through!), the doctor of the King's Guardsmen was sent to tend to his wounds, and Diego realized, as soon as he saw him, that he was his twin brother. The real one, raised, apparently, by the sister of that horrible woman who tried to get the Royal Emissary to kill Diego and his father. So, as it turns out, Gilberto Risendo had nothing to do with the De la Vegas, but that's another story, and I do not know it… yet. Oh, I forgot to mention that Diego realized Dario (that's his brother's name) was his twin brother because they look almost identical.

"When Dario left the prison later that evening he bumped into De Soto, who first thought he was Diego and confessed that he wanted to save Diego. Since that was also what Dario was considering doing, he came up with a plan, and De Soto insisted on being the one to carry it out. His wife also helped them since it was her who made the Zorro costume. Anyway, before putting their plan into practice, the former Alcalde had asked Dario for the poison he gave to the men condemned to suffer such an horrendous death (the King didn't know he was doing that, of course, or he would have also condemned Diego's brother to death). De Soto told Dario that the poison was just in case something didn't work out, but that was not true.

"So, the next day, just before the execution, Dario arranged for De Soto to take the place of the monk sent to give Diego the last rites and listen to his confession, and then the former Alcalde convinced him to switch places. Since King Ferdinand already decided that Zorro was to die with his mask on, it would have been impossible for the soldiers to know it wasn't him. Diego agreed, under the assumption that he'd have the time to come up with a plan to stop the execution and save De Soto, but, when the soldiers came, De Soto drank the poison, and there was no way to save him after that. Diego says that his last words were a plea for both him and the people here to forgive him. Dario said he died before the tenth lash, and the two of them made sure to have him buried next to the rest of his family, in Cadiz.

"When De Soto died, however, Diego was completely free. So, after introducing his brother and his wife, Vanesa, (my new sister-in-law) to his grandfather (who is a Count – I never knew that!), his uncle and his wife, they all decided to come together to Los Angeles.

"They met the new Governor in Acapulco. He seems like a good man, and he is a true admirer of Zorro's. He even asked the other rebel leaders for his current position so that he could repay his debt to Zorro by saving us from Montalvo. And he realized that Diego was Zorro all by himself, so he must be very clever, as well!

"And this brings me back to yesterday.

"I'm sorry… There is something more you should know. I think I wrote you that there was somebody in Los Angeles sabotaging the Alcalde's plans, but we didn't know who it was, so the people ended up nick-naming him 'El Angel'. Well, a few weeks back, El Angel made his first public appearance: dressed in white, a silk mask on (just like Zorro's), on a black horse with white hair in his mane and tail, and a white saddle. He looked quite dashing, as you can imagine. He fought the Alcalde's men, told Montalvo he was there to continue Zorro's work and left abducting his fiancée, who was more than willing to follow him, frankly. He made a few more appearances since then, saved a few people, just like Zorro used to, punished the Alcalde and his men for the damages caused in their searches for him, but we all thought he would soon be caught when thirty more lancers, sent by the Governor, arrived a few days ago.

"Now, this brings me to yesterday.

"I was in the tavern, checking the books when one of the lancers nailed up a new announcement. Montalvo had thought it fit to pass a law forbidding people to leave any of their inheritance to their adopted children or grandchildren. I didn't know what to make of it until Mendoza pointed out that Felipe could no longer inherit Don Alejandro's estate.

"A few minutes later, the lancers brought the dons, including Don Alejandro, in a barred wagon. Another don, Don Cesar, had betrayed them and he also told Montalvo that my children were not Don Alejandro's grandchildren. He, thus, passed that law so that, when he would execute Don Alejandro, he'd be able to confiscate his ranch!

"When I protested, he also ordered my arrest, and had each of us tied to a post, as his men were preparing to flog us. Just then, Felipe took a sword and pointed it at Montalvo's neck. Then we heard a shot and the Alcalde accused Felipe of being able to hear, so he replied that he can also speak. Turns out that Felipe was El Angel! He had been trained by Diego for almost a decade, but, of course, we didn't yet know all that. So they started dueling and, when another lancer tried to shoot at him, Zorro came swooping in, disarmed the man and more-or-less asked Felipe to give Montalvo a lesson in swordsmanship, which he did. Meanwhile, Zorro freed me and Don Alejandro, then the Alcalde's fiancée came with her mother and she threw herself into Felipe's arms (the daughter, not the mother), and then a second Zorro appeared, then ten more. It was a sight I will never forget!

"At that moment, the Alcalde ordered the Lieutenant who brought the reinforcements to kill all Zorros but those soldiers proved to be part of the Mexican army accompanying the Governor. I forgot to mention this, but the Governor had also arrived with Diego's grandfather, aunt, uncle, sister-in-law and nephew (Dario also has a one-month-old baby boy) just before the lancers brought the dons in the prison wagon.

"Returning to the story, the Governor had the Zorros (who were, in fact, also his men, only dressed as Zorro) arrest Montalvo and three of his men, but one was shot dead, so they only arrested the other two.

"Then Felipe threw himself into the first Zorro's arms, and I knew something was strange right then and there. However, I was only certain of who he was when I asked if he still loved me, and he quoted me the love declaration in his parting letter. Diego's parting letter! After that, he let me unmask him, and he introduced Dario to his father… their father, to be more precise. I think it must be hard to have a son and only meet him when he is already 33. But I don't think I have ever seen anyone happier than Don Alejandro right at that moment. Although, Mendoza came quite close!

"An hour later, after Diego insisted for Padre Benitez to perform a memorial service for De Soto – attended by most of the people in Los Angeles -, he and I married and my annual Christmas Party turned into our wedding party, and I felt like Don Alejandro.

"Although it was also a bit weird, especially for Diego, since, after the wedding ceremony we barely had a moment alone due to all the people who came to tell him how happy they were that he was alive, that they had missed him, to thank him for all he had done as Zorro, and to wish us a happy marriage. It was quite overwhelming.

"Felipe and Ana-Cristina (Montalvo's former fiancée and Felipe's current fiancée – he asked her hand in marriage yesterday and she accepted, but Diego said they should wait a few more years before getting married, till he becomes a lawyer and she is a bit older) vanished from the party after some twenty people came to thank him for everything he had done as El Angel, and as Zorro's helper, but Diego and I could not escape because it was our wedding.

"Today is Christmas morning and Diego is still asleep. I think he was already exhausted by the time we returned to the hacienda, poor thing, and I kept him up most of the night…

"I almost shared a bit too much, but I guess I can't help myself. I am so happy that I think my heart might explode.

"I only wished you were also here with me.

"Did I already mention that Diego has been named Deputy Governor and Don Alejandro is our new Alcalde? Those pieces of news seem so minor somehow.

"I have to leave you now. Diego seems to be waking up and I want him to find me next to him when he does.

"Can you imagine I wasted ten years not realizing who I was in love with, and believing I loved two different men? My heart has always been smarter than my brain!

"I love you both and I hope to see you soon. If you can't come visit, perhaps I will convince Diego for us to come visit you both in Guadalajara. I think he also has relatives there and I certainly have no fear of bandits if he is with me! Although, his family might also come with since, just like me, they seem determined to never part from him again."

"Till we met again, just know that you may stop worrying about me now.

"Your very happy sister,

"Victoria"

"Good morning, Senora De la Vega!" Diego muttered as Victoria was closing the envelope in which she had placed the letter for her brothers.

"Diego! You're awake!" She replied as if that came like a total surprise. "I'm sorry… I… I woke up a couple of hours ago and didn't know what to do except to wake you up, but I knew you were tired, so I decided to write to my brothers, but I was just about to return to bed. " She explained.

Diego just smiled at her and reached a hand from under the cover, inviting her to join him. Victoria stood up with a large smile and hurried to accept his invitation, discarding her nightgown as she did so.

"How tired are you?" She asked, teasingly.

"I just had a rest." He answered as he pulled her on top of him, looking straight into her eyes, then reached to kiss her, his hands traveling over her bare back. "How much time do you think we have until you need to feed the children?"

"Dona Carolina and Vanesa said they will take care of them also this morning, so we might have some time for ourselves. I must say, it's quite convenient that my new sister also has a baby. Although, I doubt she, Dario, and your aunt and uncle slept too much last night with the three of them crying at the same time!" Victoria chuckled.

"Did I already tell you how happy I am that we are parents? And how sorry I am for everything I put you through?" Diego asked.

"I think you mentioned both those things a few times already. Diego, all that matters now it that we are together, and we'll never again part! I, for one, am never again letting you go! You are mine!"

"And you are mine!" He answered with a broad smile.

"Well… Prove it!" She teased him.

"Is that a challenge, my love?"

"Perhaps…"

Diego needed no more invitation to prove it to her. Several times.

ZZZ

Don Alejandro woke up that Christmas morning, wondering if everything that had happened the previous day had been just a dream. After taking a few minutes to ponder the absurdity of thinking it might have all been real, he was rather certain that it had only been a very beautiful dream. At least, he had grandchildren.

With a sigh, Don Alejandro rose out of bed and prepared for the new day. It was barely seven in the morning and, at that exact time, there was nobody else awake in the house, except Maria who was preparing breakfast. He thought it was a little unusual, since Victoria was normally also up at that hour and so was Felipe. "Felipe, El Angel!" He muttered shaking his head. "What a crazy thing to make up. Almost as crazy as Diego being Zorro and him having an identical brother."

He heard some noise as he passed by Diego's/ Victoria's room and imagined she was again crying, as she did most days. He considered going in for a few moments, but it was the first Christmas he would spend without Diego and he knew he was in no state of mind to deal in any constructive way with a crying woman. He, thus sped up his pace, hurrying to get out of the house.

Once in the courtyard, Don Alejandro hesitated for a few moments, then headed for the stables, intending to check on the horses and ride Dulcinea… somewhere. It really didn't matter, as long as it gave him the opportunity to escape for a little bit and not have to interact with anyone.

It was then when he saw the weirdest thing. Two black stallions munching on hay, just next to his mare. He didn't own the horses, of that he was certain. They were not branded, either. Looking around he also saw two saddles that were not his. The bridles he did not notice. "Visitors?" He wondered. No stable hand was nearby, so he decided to return to the house and ask Maria if she knew anything about it. One of the horses seemed familiar, but it couldn't be, he figured.

As he entered the hacienda pensively, he heard his grandsons crying and decided to head for Victoria's room. His son's room. He was headed in that direction when he bumped into a taller man, walking barefoot, dressed in a robe. Surprised, Don Alejandro lifted his head to see who it was and stared incredulously into Dario's eyes.

"Good morning, Father!" The tall caballero greeted with a smile. "Merry Christmas! The babies just woke up, and Vanesa sent me to get her some towels and hot water from the kitchen, but I may have gotten lost. Can you tell me where it is? This house is rather big and more than a little confusing…"

Don Alejandro couldn't reply right away over his surprise. Instead, he just stared further at Dario's face, noticing it looked like Diego's but was a little different at the same time. The man wasn't Diego. Certainly not, considering he had buried Diego almost a year earlier. Did he forget he had another son? It was just like in his dream.

"Dario?" He asked, remembering his other son's name.

"Are you alright, Father?" The caballero answered. "I know some people confuse Diego and I, but you seemed quite capable of telling us apart yesterday…"

"Telling you apart?"

Dario just raised his eyebrows and looked expectantly at him.

"Diego is alive? Everything… it was all real?"

"Of course it was. Father? Come, sit down!" Dario indicated to the nearest chair. "If you tell me where the kitchen is, I will fetch you a glass of water."

"No…That won't be necessary. Just let me look at you for a minute." Don Alejandro uttered as tears were forming in his eyes, and he was already failing to see clearly.

Dario kneeled on one knee next to his chair and reached to wipe a tear from his eyes. "You are still in shock, I think. No wonder! It was quite a day, yesterday!"

"The black horses…"

"Tornado and Viento?*"

"Yes… So… Diego really is Zorro and he is alive. And you are real. My real son."

"I believe you already summed that up yesterday. Father, will you come with me to the kitchen? I just need to take the towels to Vanesa so that she can wash and change the babies, and then we can sit and talk."

"Yes, of course… Son!" He replied, as a new set of tears were moistening his eyes.

They found the kitchen a few minutes later as Don Alejandro himself got lost for a moment, so he had to retrace his footsteps back to where they were supposed to go. After asking Maria for help, they then took the requested items to Vanesa, Juan Carlos and Dona Carolina, who were doing their best to calm down the crying babies, each rocking another one in their arms.

"May I see Dieguito?" Don Alejandro asked. "I don't think I had a chance to properly hold him yesterday."

Juan Carlos hurriedly handed him his nephew.

"That's Alejandrito!" Vanesa remarked. "Dieguito is with Aunt Carolina."

"No, this is Dieguito!" He contradicted her. "I know my own nephew."

"And I am his mother and know him a little better." Vanesa replied.

"She's right, my dear!" Dona Carolina confirmed. "This is Dieguito." She stated as she handed Don Alejandro her other nephew, taking Alejandrito from him. "How are you, my darling?" she asked the baby who instantly stopped crying at being held by her and was watching his great-aunt inquisitively.

"How can you tell them apart?" Juan Carlos asked, looking back and forth between the two baby boys. Elena had more hair on her head then them, so she was easy to distinguish, but the boys still looked the same to him.

"They look a lot alike but they also look different!" Vanesa replied. "Look, Alejandrito's face is a bit rounder then Dieguito's, and his lips are thinner, and look at their noses!"

"They have the exact same nose!" Don Alejandor and Juan Carlos remarked at the same time then smiled at their timing.

"They certainly don't!" Vanesa contradicted them. "Alejandrito's nose looks just like Elena's while Dieguito's is a bit longer."

The three men exchanged a confused look. "Oh… I see it!" Don Alejandro stated, enthusiastically, and, a few minutes later, as Diguito started crying quite loudly, handed him back to his mother, who had, meanwhile managed to change and calm down Elena. Abandoning Juan Carlos with the women and the babies, father and son took their chance and bolted for the door when nobody was looking at them, then stopped outside the room for a chuckle.

"Did you really see the differences between them, Father?" Dario asked him.

"Those babies look identical!" Don Alejandro answered. "I just hope I'll be able to tell them apart when they grow up."

"So do I! Although, it won't really matter, will it? They'll just have two sets of parents and learn to deal with it! From my experience, two mothers and two fathers are certainly better than none."

"Well… you have a father now, son! I'm just sorry I have lost so much of your life! I should have never hired that Ynez woman! I never liked her and neither did your mother, really." Don Alejandro chided himself. "I am, however, more than happy she didn't get to raise you. I will forever be indebted to her sister for making you into the man you are!" He added, proudly. "Now… How about we go for a ride and we can get to properly know each other, and I show you your real mother's grave. She would have been so happy to get the chance to raise you!"

"I'd be more than happy to, Father! But we must be back in a couple of hours for breakfast and presents. It is Christmas, after all!"

"I already got my presents! Best presents I could have ever hoped for!" Don Alejandro told him as he put his arm on Dario's shoulder.


	25. The Best Christmas II

"So… What do you think we should do?" Ramón asked his brother

"Take the stagecoach?" Francisco suggested. "Ask the driver to stop on the way so that we might go directly to the hacienda?"

"Do you think she'll be happy to see us?"

"No doubt. I am afraid this might be a sad Christmas for both her and Don Alejandro. They had a very bad year. Perhaps we can cheer them up."

"Yes… Although… "

"Although what…"

"Do you really believe her children are his grandchildren, Ramón? I, for one, doubt Don Diego would have… you know… gotten her pregnant without being married to her. It's just not something he would have done. He was too much of a caballero and he never even seemed interested in either women or marriage. And suddenly Victoria, who had spent years waiting for Zorro, accepts his proposal? Not to mention all the secrecy around the engagement? She only told us about it a few months after Diego's death!"

"Haven't we already discussed this? What does it matter? The babies are our sister's, no matter who their father is! We need to be supportive, for her sake! She is probably terribly depressed. I could sense it in her last letter… "

"But… I was wondering… If the children are not Diego's but, as I am sure you must also suspect, Zorro's, then does Don Alejandro know about their true parentage and is just helping her, despite it, or doesn't he know and Victoria is lying to him?"

"I doubt our sister would do something so devious as lying to that man! You know she sees him as a second father! He's probably taken more care of her than her family ever did, us included! If the twins are not Diego's, he surely knows and decided to help her, anyway."

"Yes, but… That's not really fair, is it? Don't get me wrong, I understand perfectly why she would hide the fact that Zorro is the real father. I only met Luis Ramone, but, from what I heard of the man, Montalvo is worse. With him in charge of the pueblo, I doubt she wanted anyone to know the truth! But, how about poor Felipe? He barely got a new father, lost him and now he must accept the twins as his father's real children, although they are probably not!"

Ramón took a moment to reflect when the obvious dawned on him. "They are twins, Francisco! Think about it! Diego had a twin and now Victoria gives birth to twins! They must be his!"

"That is a good point. So… You think they really are Diego's? That Victoria changed her mind about Zorro? Look, I don't know about you, but when she wrote to me about his capture, I was convinced he still loved him… And she never once mention any romance with Don Diego before writing to let us know she was pregnant."

"She always had a crush on him and we both know it. Fine, it seems a little out of character for Diego to have done what he did to her, but she might have also had her share of the blame in the entire affair! I doubt he forced himself on her."

"He would have never done that! To any woman, least of all, Victoria!" Francisco agreed.

"I think we should believe our sister and not endanger her with any more speculations! Now, let's go get our tickets. The stagecoach should leave around 10:00! We don't even have the time to find out the latest gossip."

"I'm sure we'll have time to catch up while in Los Angeles!"

After sharing the ride with the same three older people who had traveled with them all the way from Guadalajara to San Pedro, the two Escalante brothers arrived at the hacienda around noon. Not hearing any noise around the house, they looked suspiciously at the decorations in the courtyard, then knocked on the door. When nobody answered the first knock, they tried again and, eventually, it was Victoria who opened it for them.

The siblings stared at each other for a few moments, after which Victoria hurried to embrace both of them at once.

"Francisco! Ramón! What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Well, sister, we figured you might need us this Christmas and were also hoping to meet our niece and nephew." Francisco told her.

"I am so happy to see you!" She answered. "And Diego will be thrilled!"

"Diego?" They exchanged a confused look. "Don Diego is dead, Victoria!" Francisco reminded her.

"Dead? No! He's alive! He and I got married yesterday!" She stated, enthusiastically, inviting them inside. "I'll go get you some refreshments! You must be parched!" As she said that, she hurried to the kitchen, leaving them in the library.

"This might be worse than I thought…" Ramón pointed out.

"Yes… Do you… Do you think she might have… how to say…"

"Lost it? I surely hope not… But, if she has… Something must be really wrong here. Do you think one of the twins might have died and that pushed her over the edge? It would make sense, after all she's been through recently… "

"Don't even say that! What if they both died? Or, perhaps, something happened to Don Alejandro? If she now believes Diego lives, she must have suffered a terrible shock. What in the world are we to do if she has really gone…mad?" The last word Francisco only dared to whisper and pretended he hadn't even considered it when Victoria returned a few moments later with a tray carrying four tall glasses filled with juice.

"Four? Are we expecting someone else?" Francisco wondered.

"Diego. He woke up when I was leaving our bedroom, so he should be here shortly. Our bedroom. Can you imagine? I finally married him!"

"Yes… you said that, already…" Ramón answered, looking at his brother with a sad face.

"Why are you not happy about this? You always liked Diego and I know you like Zorro!" Victoria chided them.

"What does Zorro have to do with you marrying Diego?" Francisco questioned.

"Everything. They're one and the same, after all… Diego is Zorro and the other way around." She answered as if they should already know that.

"Right." Ramón took a deep breath. "Victoria, where are the babies?"

"They are sleeping. You will have to wait to meet them since so are Vanesa, Dario, Don Juan Carlos and Dona Carolina. And they need their sleep. I doubt they had much last night." She told them, mentioning people they had never heard anything about.

"And who… are those people?" Francisco was almost afraid to ask.

"Vanesa is my new sister… our new sister, and Dona Carolina and Don Juan Carlos are Diego and Dario's aunt and uncle. They accompanied Diego's grandfather here… But the Count must also be resting if he's not here… I'm sure you'll like him! He spent a lot of his life in the Navy!"

"The Count?" Francisco questioned.

"Diego and Dario's grandfather. The Count… Don Emmanuel." She tried to clarify. "I wonder where Don Alejandro, Felipe are… maybe training the new stallion... Did you see them outside?"

"Outside? No, we haven't seen them." Ramón answered.

"Maybe they went into town. Felipe was very happy when Diego gave him Alas, last evening. He might have gone to the pueblo to show him off." Victoria considered.

"Alas?" Ramón questioned, increasingly worried about his sister's mental health.

"Yes. Diego heard about El Angel and was immediately convinced it was Felipe taking over his fight for justice, so he bought him a white stallion. He's just as beautiful as Tornado and Diego says he's also just as smart."

"So… Felipe is El Angel… the new masked outlaw… who can talk…" Francisco felt dizzy.

"Yes! I still can't believe it! He's just as sneaky as my husband, keeping his hearing and speaking a secret for so long! But he's no longer an outlaw, of course, considering we are under Mexican rule now and that Don Alejandro is Alcalde and Diego is Deputy Governor… But I already told you all that in my letter… Oh… I just wrote the letter this morning and I didn't even send it… Just a second, I'll go fetch it… you must be quite confused and it will explain better than I can otherwise!" Victoria told them and hurried towards her bedroom.

"So… Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ramón inquired.

"Everyone's dead and she's gone mad?" Francisco stated rather than asked, and looked concerned towards his brother. "What are we to do now?"

"Well… We can try to reason with her, but I doubt it would work… One of us will have to stay in Los Angeles to take care of her." Ramón answered.

"One? She will need us both!" Francisco pointed out. "Maybe we should take her to Guadalajara. This place can't be good for her…"

"Here!" Victoria returned and handed them the letter. "You read it, I'll go see what is taking Diego so long and then check on the babies. If one of them wakes up, so will the other two…"

"Other… two?" Ramón asked again.

"Well…Yes. There are three babies in the house. My twins with Diego and Vanesa and Dario's child. He is just 6 days younger that the twins but, Dios, the lungs on him!" She replied with a smile and went towards the back of the hacienda where the living quarters were situated, leaving them to their reading.

The two brothers were on the brink of crying and were doubting whether to open the envelope or not.

"We might as well…" Francisco decided, and took out the letter, reading it out loud, so that both of them could listen. He sighed at least five times while doing so, his conviction that Victoria needed their help increasing with every phrase.

When he reached its end, he put it next to him and let his head fall helplessly on his hands, barely able to  
suppress his tears. Ramón slouched back in his chair and, hands folded across his chest, studied the ceiling for a few minutes, no word spoken between them.

"Francisco! Ramón!" Diego called to them as he emerged from the corridor, his hair still a little wet from his bath, but otherwise looking impeccable.

The two younger men startled, standing up from their chairs at seeing him, while their mouths dropped open.

"Don Diego?" They questioned at the same time, than glanced at each other to make sure the other one was seeing him, as well.

"Victoria told me you were here, but I needed to make myself presentable first. I apologize for having kept you waiting! Do you know where my wife is?" Diego asked.

"She said something about a baby…" Ramón replied.

"I see. She must have gone to the nursery. But why are you not sitting down?"

"How… How are you alive?" Ramón asked.

"Oh! I thought… Victoria told me she already explained everything to you… I faked my death… It's a really long story… "

"Father!" Felipe called at entering the hacienda and hearing his voice. "Grandfather asked for you…" He stopped at seeing the two brothers who were now focusing their incredulous gaze towards him, so he just smiled shyly. He nodded his greeting, then remembered why he had come. "Grandfather asked you to go to the stables. Some of the vaqueros just arrived from Santa Paula and he told them you were back but they now believe he is crazy, so you need to go prove that you are alive. "

"At least we are not the only ones who needed hard evidence…" Ramón muttered.

"Excuse me!" Diego asked with a smile, then exited the hacienda, leaving Felipe and the brothers to stare at each other.

"So… You are El Angel… And Diego is Zorro… and he finally married Victoria." Francisco recovered his voice at last, and Felipe just nodded as the brothers silently fell back into their seats. "Took him long enough…"

In the meantime, Diego reached the stables.

"Felipe said you wanted to see me, Father!" He mentioned and proceeded to greet their men.

"Don Diego?" Juan, one of the vaqueros asked. "But… We saw you dead!"

"No… I just faked it…"

"Faked it? How? You had a bullet hole in you and you weren't breathing…"

"The bullet hole was just stage make-up and a bit of chemistry. As for my breathing, it was only slowed. I used the same poison Felipe used to fake Mateo's death." He replied.

"Don Mateo is also alive?" Pablo, another of the vaqueros wondered.

"Yes. And I am Zorro and Felipe is El Angel; I have a twin brother called Dario, who is a doctor and looks just like me, that black stallion there is Tornado, I am married to Victoria now and Father is Alcalde… And… I guess I am Deputy Governor… That's about all you've missed yesterday." He decided to get it over with.

"And my wife's father, brother and sister-in-law came to live with us." Don Alejandro completed Diego's statement. "And my other son, Dario, and his wife, Vanesa, also have a child. My other grandson's name is Diego Emmanuel and he is also one month old."

"Which reminds me! The Escalante brothers are here. I left Felipe with them, but we should return to the house." Diego informed his father, who nodded, then accompanied him towards the house with a grin, leaving the baffled vaqueros to watch them and scratch their heads.

"You know, son, this morning I though yesterday was just a dream." Don Alejandro told him, putting an arm on his shoulder as they were nearing the hacienda. "It seems incredible to me that you are here! That Dario…everyone… And Felipe can speak and hear! Did I already tell you how happy and incredibly proud you have made me? All these incredible things which have happened… it must be all the good you have done as Zorro coming back to us tenfold!"

"Maybe it's Mother, looking out for us." Diego suggested with a smile.

"Might be, son. It might be!" Don Alejandro confirmed. "May I confess something, Diego?"

"Of course, Father…"

"I am starting to enjoy the shocked expressions of everyone's faces at hearing the news; especially at seeing you!" He added with a chuckle. "Perhaps we should arrange for a trip to Santa Barbara so that we might give the news to you uncle's family. Can you imagine Rafael's face at finding out? Not to mention his wife's! Victoria will have a field day!"


	26. The Best Christmas III

Mendoza was a happy man that day. Christmas Eve had been exciting and extremely emotional.

He never imagined he would see his best friend again, nor that he might ever again lay eyes on Zorro, the hero he had looked up to for almost a decade, the one man who was able to stop Luis Ramone's evil schemes and devious plans for the citizens of Los Angeles. Yet, miraculously, his best friend and the man he most admired had both been resurrected and merged into one man. Not only that, but he also brought his brother with him so Jaime Mendoza now hoped to have two best friends.

He was even offered his old job back, but he declined the new Alcalde's offer, since tending to the tavern was more of the life for him. Especially considering he only had to obey Senori…Dona Victoria's orders now, and she was always nice to him. Pilar was just an added bonus. He had known Victoria's helper for a long time.

She had always been nice to him but she had become particularly so since he had taken over the running of the tavern. That was, in part, because he protected her when some of the patrons were rude, Mendoza was certain of that. What he ignored was the other main reason for her behavior: the fact that the young woman had started to enjoy his company and help in the tavern.

With him there, she no longer needed to do some of the tasks she had had to perform – like lifting heavy sacks of flour or carrying bottles of wine from the cellar. Furthermore, he seemed to know his way around the kitchen and was very helpful with the cooking, and, since he lived in the tavern, she could go home earlier because he was more than capable of closing and preparing everything for the next morning. Even the inconvenience of having to arrive earlier in the morning to start baking the bread, a task which had previously been Victoria's, was no longer an inconvenience for Pilar since Mendoza always waited for her with breakfast and coffee ready.  
At first they would spend the time it took for the bread to bake to finish their breakfast while discussing how to divide their daily tasks. But, as time passed, their conversations changed, and the two were now talking about all kinds of things over their early coffee, from family and friends to the latest gossip and other affairs of the pueblo.

Mendoza, however, hadn't seen Pilar that morning since she had the day off. In fact, the only reason he had opened the tavern was because Victoria had asked him to offer a feast to the soldiers, and he was more than happy to comply, especially since all he needed to do was help with the plates and the glasses. The De la Vega cook and two helpers had been making themselves busy with that feast and the food for the party at the hacienda and, about an hour before noon, the new Alcalde and his grandson, Felipe, had come with a wagon filled with food. The old don was more than happy to offer the enlisted men a nice Christmas surprise, especially after the events of the previous day, and they had spent the last two hours delighting themselves with the food they'd been offered.

In a way Mendoza envied them. He had never served under an Alcalde as nice as Don Alejandro.

Sighing, he re-focused his thoughts on the previous day. Two of the people he liked most in the world, Victoria Escalante and Diego de la Vega/Zorro had finally gotten married. Such an emotional ceremony it was! Not to mention the excellent party that had followed it! At remembering that, Mendoza also remembered he had been invited to attend the party the De la Vegas had organized in celebration of Christmas and, at that point, all the wonderful things which had happened during the last 24 hours or so.

Mendoza was only sorry to hear about the former Alcalde's passing, but he reasoned that, between him and Diego, he was glad it had been De Soto to die.

Brushing his sadness aside and saying a silent prayer for his old commander, the former soldier decided that another happy day lay ahead of him. He had, however, not even the slightest idea yet just how happy it would be.

It was almost one in the afternoon, and he was serving drinks and recounting to the soldiers who had accompanied the Governor everything about his and Zorro's past adventures. That was when the stagecoach from San Pedro arrived.

Three people descended from it: a younger couple, the woman holding a baby in her arms, and a man who seemed to be just a little older than Don Alejandro. They were all well-dressed and seemed rather wealthy, although the older man had scars on his head and neck, indicative of past injuries.

They looked around the pueblo and headed for the Alcalde's office. When they were told it was closed, although they had suspected it, they headed for the Mission, hoping to talk to the padre, only to be turned away, since Padre Benitez had left for the orphanage just after the Christmas Mass.

With a sigh, they decided to head for the tavern. Putting some food in their bellies and getting a little rest was all they could do at that point since there was nobody there to help them in their search.

"Buenos dias, Senor!" The old man greeted Mendoza. "We are looking for accommodation for a few nights."

"You are? It's just that… We don't usually get visitors on Christmas. I only opened because the most extraordinary thing happened yesterday and the owner of the tavern had asked me to… Of course, I could give you rooms if you so wish. How long are you going to be here?" The former lancer asked.

"A few days, maybe more." The man answered. "It depends on how fast we can find what we are looking for. May I also ask for some food to be prepared for us?"

"We are not serving food today… But I am sure the lancers won't mind sharing some of the food the Alcalde brought them with you!" The innkeeper answered with a kind smile and indicated for them to sit down until he would be able to fix them some plates.

"Father," The younger man asked the older one while Mendoza was in the kitchen "what do you think we will really find here? This pueblo is barely forty years old and I doubt there is anyone still alive who might remember events that happened so long ago!"

"There must be records, son. All I want is to have the padre here do a ceremony by their graves and I can be at peace. For too long I had hoped to come here… to at least know where my wife and son are buried. I only had them for such a short time, Mariano. Your brother I only had for two years before I went to war and I never saw either him or your mother again."

"I know, Father. Please, don't get upset. You are right. We will certainly find them!" Mariano answered.

"It is true. We just arrived on the wrong day. It is Christmas after all! We should also think about how to celebrate it!" His wife proposed.

"Here!" Mendoza came with their plates. "Would you also like something to drink? Today it's on the house."

"You are very kind, senor." Mariano replied. "I wouldn't mind some wine! Father? My dear?"

"Wine is fine for me, as well."

"And you, senora?"

"Some juice or milk would be perfect. Or plain water…"

"We have a very good orange juice I can offer you. I'll return in a few minutes." Mendoza assured them and went to the kitchen.

"He seems like a nice man." The woman decided.

"He is certainly the first innkeeper I have met in my entire life to offer food for free!" The old man remarked with a smile.

"That's one thing you've always liked, Father! Free food." The younger man replied with a chuckle.

"Who doesn't like free food and free wine?" He asked.

"We are more than able to afford to buy anything we want, Father!" Mariano replied as Mendoza returned with their drinks.

"Here you are! This is one of the best wines we have, and for you, senora, a glass of fresh orange juice, and some milk for the baby if it wakes up."

"Thank you, Senor. You are most kind!" The woman said enthusiastically.

"Senor!" The older man decided to speak to him, forgetting all about the food in front of him, although he hadn't eaten since the previous evening, and he was not one to usually skip a meal. "We appreciate the hospitality but, since we are here with a purpose, I was wondering if you know of any of the original settlers in Los Angeles who might still be alive."

"The founders? No… I mean, the older generation I believe is mostly gone… But Don Alejandro de la Vega and a few other dons came here with their fathers when the area was first settled. Perhaps he can be of help…"

"And, may I ask where do I find this senor?"

"Right across the plaza from tomorrow on, since he is the new Alcalde. Today, though, probably only at his hacienda, about two miles up north."

"I see. And can you tell me if the padre keeps records of the people buried in the Mission's cemetery?"

"Of course! There is all the information there. And the Alcalde also has the pueblo's records he can take a look at if there is someone you are looking for… Who are you looking for?"

"My wife and my oldest son. From what we were able to find out, they were buried here, in Los Angeles."

"Your wife and son?"

"Si, senor." The old man replied sadly. "I've lost them both almost forty years ago."

"That is a long time. And you never visited before?"

"No… I was away with the Army for a long time, fighting in the battle of Acapulco, in Yucatan, then in the Amazon Campaign. It was never ending. In twenty years I was barely able to return home for a few months to visit the only son I had left. He was twenty-two already when I was finally discharged. A grown man I hardly knew.

"By then," he continued, sweat starting running down his face "my hacienda was in ruins and it took us years to rebuild. Those were hard times. We could barely survive, with no renters and no helpers. Most of the men in the area had been drafted, just as I was, you see, but only few returned. When the Spanish tried to draft my son, he ran away and joined the rebel forces instead. I would have lost everything were it not for some money I inherited from an uncle. He was a rich land owner in Guerrero Province and I was his only heir. With the money I received, I managed to bring in some Russians to help me work the land. Since they were not Spanish, they could not be conscripted and they were good workers, so my ranch prospered. Now, I can no longer complain."

"That is being too modest, Father! To be fair, when I returned home, a few months ago, my father was already one of the richest men in Jalisco!" Mariano recounted.

"Yes. I am rich but I would give all my money if I could just see my wife and firstborn son again. I know, I have you, Mariano, and I am grateful to God for you and for the fact that you returned home in one piece; not to mention, you also brought me a daughter-in-law and a grandchild. Truth is, all I want now is to visit my wife and son's gravs and then I can die in peace!" The old man decided.

"You're still young, Father! Please don't talk like that!" The young woman asked him, on the brink of crying.

"I am sorry, Daughter! Forgive an old man's foolishness. But I must be forgetting my manners. I am bothering you with my entire life's story and we haven't even introduced ourselves." He uttered. "This beautiful senora is Dona Ximena, my daughter-in-law; this is her husband, my son, Mariano, and I am Coronel Jaime Mariano Leonides de Mendoza." He introduced his family.

"That is such a strange coincidence. My name is Jaime Mendoza." The former Sergeant turned innkeeper remarked. "It is nice to meet you all."

"That is a strange coincidence. I suppose there are many Mendozas everywhere…" The younger man replied, amused.

"None here, in Los Angeles. Here, I'm the only one. Although, I was born on a farm near Guadalajara, from what I remember of my early childhood. It's not much, though. Only an old big oak I used to climb and fields of hay in which I would hide from my mother. I don't even remember her, to tell the truth… She died when I was five and her relatives never claimed me. I only found out I had a rich don for a cousin some seven years ago, when he was already dead…"

The old man's face, which had been already becoming pale since entering the establishment, turned white as Mendoza shared his life story with the strangers. The innkeeper himself felt strange talking about it, since he didn't usually tell people such things. It was too painful for him to even try to remember the time when he had a black-haired mother whose face he could no longer recall.

"Your mother…" The Coronel uttered, the glass of wine shaking in his hand. "Do you remember her name?"

"Of course, I remember. It's all I remember of her and it's how they found out I was that don's cousin. My mother's name was Ana Portillo. But why do you ask?"

"Good Lord!" The old man answered.

"That's my mother's name… And my brother was called Jaime…" The young man uttered in a clear state of shock. "But… But we thought they both died in the stagecoach accident."

"My mother died in a stagecoach accident, just when we were coming to Los Angeles." Mendoza told them. "Are you saying… what I think you are saying?" He asked, his eyes filling with tears.

"My son? You're my son?" The old man asked as they were just staring at each other. "All this time I thought him dead…and my Jaime is alive?" He asked his younger son as he put a hand over his heart and started breathing rapidly until he finally lost consciousness.

"Father!" The younger man shouted as he barely caught him from bumping his head. "We need a doctor!"

"Doctor Hernandez in visiting his son in Monterey. We have no… the De la Vegas… Stay with him! I'll ride like the wind!" Mendoza stated and, forgetting he was wearing an apron at the moment and that he was not a very good rider, he hurriedly left the tavern, saddled Victoria's mare and galloped towards the Hacienda de la Vega.

"Don Diego!" He shouted at arriving there. "Don Diego!"

The tall caballero he was looking for, followed by his adopted son, hurried out of the house at hearing him. "What is wrong Sergeant?" He asked, forgetting for a moment the man was no longer in the army.

"My father. There's something wrong with him! At the tavern. We need a doctor!" He replied completely confusing him.

Diego, however, understood that medical help was needed at the tavern and that was all he needed to know, really.

"I'll get Dario and we'll be right with you!" He assured him, then went to fetch his brother.

Mendoza hurriedly returned to the tavern and arrived just seconds before the two black stallions and the white one reached him. By then the older man was conscious again and his son was fighting to keep him still. Diego and Dario hurried to enter the tavern and kneel by the old man's side while Felipe headed for the kitchen. Dario checked his eyes and his pulse and determined it was not, as he had thought the moment he'd seen the man lying on the taproom's floor, a heart attack. After checking his pulse he concluded that his blood pressure must have dropped suddenly but was recovering well and the man seemed not to be in any immediate danger.

"When did he last eat?" He asked Mariano.

The man looked at the plates and realized his father hadn't touched his food yet. "Yesterday evening. He woke up late this morning and he didn't have time for breakfast."

Felipe returned to the taproom with some willow bark tea, offering it to the old man.

"Did you put any sugar in it?" Dario asked his nephew who shook his head, accustomed to limit his talking. "Please take it back and add a spoonful of sugar to it. It will help him get back on his feet in no time. He will, however, need a decent meal afterwards and some rest. But he'll be fine."

Mendoza just nodded as the other man got back on his feet and turned to face him, then took him into his arms to embrace him. "We lived for forty years believing you were dead, just like Mother and Uncle Jose, her brother. We had thought you had all perished in that accident. This must be a Christmas miracle!" Mariano told him. "My brother!"

"We always thought he was an orphan." Diego expressed his own disbelief.

"I thought so, too, Don Diego! Isn't this amazing? Now that you have a brother, it turns out I also have one!" Mendoza answered, embracing his brother harder, his eyes in tears.

"I should have looked for you sooner!" The old man chided himself. "I should have, at least, done it twenty years ago, when I was discharged."

"You wouldn't have found me then. I only returned to Los Angeles twelve years ago. I was in the Army till a few months ago." Mendoza answered.

"I always thought of you! For all this time… we believed you dead but you were alive!" Mariano uttered through tears. "My father was away at war when it happened… he only returned a year later. I was too young to come along, so I was left home with my aunt. She was the one who raised me. I… I can't believe it! My big brother!"

Diego smiled at them, and looked at his brother.

"I know how they feel!" Dario agreed with his unspoken words as they both helped the old man up.

"Thank you, doctors!" He uttered as he opened his arms and Mendoza let go of his brother to embrace his father.

The woman was just perplexedly looking at them, the tears in her eyes, blurring her vision. When she recovered enough to wipe them and started seeing clearly, her eyes rested on the twin brothers as she glanced between them.

"You look just like Senor Gilarranz." Ximena remarked. "You both do…"

That statement, unexpectedly, attracted everyone's attention.

"That was the name you were going by, wasn't it, Don Diego?" Mendoza asked, addressing his friend. "But how do you know about Senor Gilarranz, Dona Ximena?" He then asked his sister-in-law.

"Gilarranz? The man who…" Her husband glanced to his wife, then looked at Diego.

"Don't you remember me?" Ximena asked him. "You and Don Ignacio saved me, my daughter and my brother!"

"They did?" Mendoza questioned, pointing big, incredulous eyes at Diego.

"The stagecoach attack. On our way to Veracruz." The caballero remembered where he had seen her before, just as the woman handed her baby to her husband and rushed to embrace him.

"Thank you! I'm not sure I said it back then, but thank you so much! If it weren't for you and your friend, God knows what would have happened to us!" She said. "Is Don Ignacio also here? I'd like to thank him… I'm not sure I did back then."

"No… Unfortunately, Ignacio… is no longer among us." The baffled caballero told her.

"He's… dead? How?" Ximena wondered.

"He died saving my life." Diego answered.

"I'm sorry to hear it. He seemed like a good man, may God have mercy of his soul!" She answered sadly.

"Don Diego and Alcalde de Soto saved…you?" Mendoza inquired.

"Senor, I am in your debt!" Mariano addressed Diego. "But when my wife told me about that incident, I admit I didn't imagine it was a doctor who save them."

"I'm not really a doctor. Only my brother is. I merely help whenever I can." The caballero replied.

"Don Diego is… my friend. And the new Deputy Governor." Mendoza clarified.

"Deputy Governor?" Mariano was more puzzled than ever.

"It's a really long story, but I will let your brother recount it since we should be going now and I think you also might need some time alone. If you feel up to it, you are all welcome to the Christmas Party at our hacienda, this evening at six."

"Gracias Don Diego!" The former Sergeant replied.

"Oh… And, my friend… Please just call me Diego from now on. We know each other too well for formalities."

"And don't even start calling me Don Dario. I'm really not used to it!" His brother added with a smile.

"Ah… Jaime!" Diego remembered "Victoria was wondering if you might also give Pilar a ride in the wagon if you'll be coming to the fiesta."

"Claro, Do… Diego!" The older man replied with a grin.

Yes… Jaime Mendoza thought. This is turning out to be a very happy day!


	27. The Best Christmas

"Are you sure you don't want us to take rooms at the tavern, Father?" Rafael asked as he and his family were in a coach, all heading for the De la Vega Hacienda. "We haven't even told Uncle Alejandro we were coming."

"There are plenty of rooms in my cousin's hacienda!" His father, Don Rodrigo stated. "With poor Diego gone, We might, at least, make his Christmas happier!"

"But in his last letter he did mention grandchildren. They might be living there with their mother and she and Marguerite..." Rafael insisted.

"I doubt those are his grandchildren. Diego couldn't have possibly fallen for that taverness. If I remember correctly, he wasn't at all interested in women! Even if he were, I'm certain he had better taste that that Escalante woman, who only had eyes for Zorro. Those children are probably his and she is just trying to make them pass for Diego's!" Marguerite uttered bitterly.

"Even if that is true, Marguerite, my cousin owes his life to that outlaw, so it might be that Alejandro simply chose to take care of his children! And he always talked about the Escalante woman as if she was his own daughter." Don Rodrigo reminded them as the coach was nearing the hacienda. "Whatever the case may be, we will not do or say anything that might harm Alejandro. Those children are his grandchildren, like it or not, and he loves them as such!"

"That is true, my dear. Either way, if they are at the hacienda, that means there must be at least a servant hired for the children and who can help us take care of Alejandra and Carlito, as well." Dona Carmen, his wife and Rafael's mother added as her granddaughter was sleeping in her lap and her grandson, who was less than a year old, was resting in his mother's arms. "God knows we need every bit of help we can get with them!"

It was already sundown, and the sky was painted in shades of orange, pink and purple.

The hacienda's courtyard was brightened by dozens of lamps, music could be heard from a distance and the unannounced visitors stopped the horses about three hundred feet from the house to inquisitively look at each other before continuing on their way. A few moments later, they heard a horseman coming from the same direction as them. The man halted his horse as he reached the party, in his turn, looking inquisitively towards the hacienda. He was wearing a full beard and mustache, his features barely recognizable and his clothes seemed slept in.

"Hola, Senor!" Don Rodrigo greeted him, wondering at the man, who was not exactly dressed for a Christmas celebration. "Are you on your way to the De la Vega hacienda?"

"I am. It's just that… I wasn't expecting a party. Can you tell me if it really is true? There really is a new Governor? Do you know if Alcalde Montalvo is still in command of the pueblo?"

"I'm afraid I don't actually know, Senor… Although, we have, indeed heard rumors of a new Governor sent from Mexico City. Not much more, I'm afraid... We are coming from Santa Barbara."

"Santa Barbara?" The lone rider asked them. "I also came from there. Just my luck. When everything gets better, I lose my family!" He went on mumbling.

"What do you mean? How did you lose your family?" Rafael asked.

"From what I could find out, a masked man abducted them. If it were Zorro, I would not have been concerned. But, if the rumors are right, he is dead and this man who decided to take his place, El Angel… I don't know what he did with them. I'm not even sure he can be trusted…"

"El Angel? Is he real, then? He really took Zorro's place?" Marguerite asked.

"That's what I hear, Senora. I apologize if I am being rude, but I can't really know who to trust these days and it might be better for you not to know my name. At least until I am certain the rumors are true and I might soon no longer have any reason to fear."

"Then, why are you headed towards the De la Vega Hacienda?" Don Rodrigo questioned him.

"I'm sorry… But who am I addressing, if you don't mind telling me?" The rider asked.

"I am Don Rodrigo de la Vega. Alejandro's cousin. And this is my son, Rafael." The older man replied, caustiously omitting to introduce the rest of the family to the stranger.

"If you are Don Alejandro's relatives, perhaps you might help me. You see, the only man I trust is his grandson, Felipe. He is in that house and I need to speak to him, but I doubt it would be a good idea to just show up for the party." The rider informed them. "If you could ask him to meet me outside the hacienda I would be in your debt."

"Well… If we are to help you senor, may I ask what name to give him?" Don Rodrigo asked, cautiously.

"Mateo. I was a friend of his father." He replied after pondering a few moments. "But do not give that name to anyone else, por favor."

"You were a friend of Diego's?" Rafael questioned.

"Yes… He and my wife have known each other all their lives." The stranger confirmed. "I've only known him since he returned from Spain but he always struck me as one of the kindest men I've ever met. He might have been no Zorro but he helped a lot of people in his own way."

"Very well, Senor. We will give him your message." The older don agreed, not wishing to prolong the conversation any longer as he felt tears forming in his eyes at thinking of his dead nephew.

"Please make sure nobody overhears you when you do. I don't want to endanger him in any way."

"We'll make sure of that." They agreed as the man saluted and headed for the back wall of the hacienda, finding a place to hide while waiting for the man he wanted to see. "What do you think, son?" Don Rodrigo proceeded to ask.

"I think we agreed to help him and it costs us nothing to deliver a message. I'll do that while you keep Uncle Alejandro busy." Rafael told his father.

The noise of the music was doubled by the noise of the people talking as they reached the hacienda. It seemed to them as if half the population of Los Angeles was there. Guards wearing Mexican uniforms were stationed in the courtyard, and the place was buzzing with people joyously talking and laughing, glasses in their hands and good food in their bellies.

After informing the guards who they were, the four adults and two children were accompanied to the back courtyard, from whence most of the noise was coming. At rounding the corner, though, they came face-to-face with a ghost.

"D… D… Diego?" Don Rodrigo asked the young man coming their way.

"Dario. I know it's still confusing for everyone." The young man corrected with a smile. "Are you friends of my father's?" He asked, but his baffled audience didn't answer. "Are you looking for Diego? I'm afraid he's busy with the Governor, so you might have to wait for a white to see him." The puzzled looks he received at his words made him realize the people in front of him had no idea who he was or that his brother was alive. "I see…" He muttered. "Let me call Father…" As he said that, he headed in the direction from which he had just come and returned a minute later accompanied by Don Alejandro.

"Cousin!" He greeted and hurried to embrace him. "I had no idea you were coming! Catalina, Marguerite, as beautiful as ever! Alejandrita, Carlito! They grow fast, don't they?"

"Ah… Alejandro… " Don Rodrigo recovered his voice and pointed out at Dario.

"I'm sorry! Where are my manners? This is my son, Dario. Diego's twin brother. The real one. The one who was stolen from us at birth. Diego found him in Spain and brought him back."

"But… I… We… You told us Diego died. You buried him. How could you bury him in California if he was alive in Spain."

"Oh… that's a long story… He didn't die, he just faked his death to protect us. The former Alcalde had found out he was Zorro, so he blackmailed him. Diego met Dario when he was in the King's prison, awaiting execution. They just arrived yesterday with the new Governor. Oh… I must introduce you to Vanesa, Dario's wife, and I should also show you my grandchildren. I have four now, if you can imagine that! More than you! Dario has a newborn boy called Diego! Oh, and Diego and Victoria just got married yesterday. I should be upset with them for having the children before getting married but, under the circumstances, and considering he came back after I thought him lost forever, I am too happy to even bother. And they're married now, anyway! Come, come into the house!" The overenthusiastic Don Alejandro informed them and proceeded without asking.

"I'm sorry, Alejandro… But you're going too fast for me." Don Rodrigo told him. "Are you saying Diego is alive, he was never dead, but he is an outlaw?"

"My brother is a hero!" Dario corrected him. "And he's no longer an outlaw, but the Deputy Governor of California."

"Deputy… Alejandro, I would love to meet everyone but may I have a drink first? It's all a bit too much for me…"

"Felipe!" Don Alejandro called his grandson who was approaching, a glass in one hand, his fiancée holding the other. "Would you mind getting a glass of brandy for your granduncle?"

"And one for your grandaunt, por favor!" Dona Catalina asked.

"Of course not! I'll be right back!" He replied, letting go of Ana-Cristina who also took the glass in his hand, and returning with the needed beverages in no time.

"I thought you were a deaf-mute." Rafael told his nephew as his parents were gulping down the orange liquid and his wife was trying to get her mother-in-law to stop drinking long enough so that she could deprive her of the glass while it was, at least, half-full.

"So did I!" Don Alejandro replied, enthusiasm still clear in his voice. "Turns out he's not been deaf since he was twelve, but was Zorro's eyes, ears, apprentice, rescuer and assistant. Oh… And the latest trick he pulled on me was putting on a white mask, calling himself El Angel, and deciding to take over his father's fight for justice." Don Alejandro told them, bursting with pride and inwardly delighted at watching their shocked faces.

"El Angel? We just met a man who said El Angel abducted his family… You did that?" Rafael questioned. "But he said you were the one person he trusted…"

Felipe's first impulse was to deny it, but immediately glanced towards Ana-Cristina. "Where is he? Where did you see him? Did he give you a name?" He asked instead.

"He said he was a friend of Diego's. I believe he said his name was Mateo." Rafael uttered, glancing again at Dario, unable to believe he was not the cousin he had known his whole life. In fact, at that moment, it was hard for him to believe much of anything he was seeing and hearing and didn't even remember that the man they had just met asked for their discretion.

"My father!" Ana-Cristina uttered. "He is already here? But we only sent the courier yesterday."

"Your father? He said he was waiting by the back wall." As soon as Rafael told her that, the young woman sprinted towards the place indicated, Felipe on her heels.

"Father!" She called at reaching the place he was hiding and the man hurried to embraced his daughter.

"My little angel! Are you alright? I was so worried about you and your mother. I was told you had been abducted by the new masked outlaw!" Don Mateo told his daughter.

"Of course, we were! That was the only way Felipe could keep us safe. He's El Angel… or was, since there's no way I am letting him put on a mask and ride into the night after we're married! You will allow us to marry, won't you, Father?"

"I… Of course, Felipe… you're El Angel? How? I know you can hear but you can't really…"

"I can speak as well." Felipe informed him. "I recovered my voice about a month ago."

"That's very good news, son! I… I don't know what to say! You saved us all but… Ana, aren't you a little too young for marriage?"

"That's what Don Diego thinks, as well. He wants Felipe to finish his studies first… but it's alright… he will court me in the meantime, so we can get to know each other better."

"I'm sorry… What Diego… thinks?"

"My father is alive, Don Mateo. He returned yesterday."

"From the dead? I was at his funeral, Felipe!"

"Do not forget that many people have also been at your funeral." The young man reminded him.

"But… It's different… I was sentenced to death and you saved my life. What reason did Diego have to fake his death?"

"He was Zorro and he was being blackmailed by Alcalde De Soto. He needed to leave the pueblo but he knew that if Diego and Zorro would disappear at the same time, everyone will connect the dots and realize they were one and the same. By faking his death, he made sure no one reached that conclusion." Felipe stated, already tired of repeating the same information.

"I see." The man muttered as he sat on a nearby boulder. "That makes a lot of sense, actually. That's how you knew how to save me! He's been teaching you. And that's why Francesca always said he seemed like a different person after returning from Spain… But why are you telling me this if he is back? He gave up being Zorro? What if he'll be needed again?"

"Well… He did publicly unmask yesterday. And he can't be Zorro and the Deputy Governor at the same time… Plus, my grandfather is Alcalde now, so, at least for a while, there might not be a need for Zorro, anyway…"

"He's… I see… Seems like I missed all the excitement…"

"You also missed his wedding. Don Diego married Senorita Victoria yesterday." His daughter informed him. "But, come, Father, there's no need for you to hide anymore and Don Alejandro threw the best party ever! No wonder, considering his dead son returned, got married and also brought his twin brother, sister-in-law, nephew, grandfather, uncle and aunt with him."

"I'm afraid you lost me at twin brother… Wasn't the Emissary Diego's twin brother? Did he also fake his death or does Diego have another brother now?" The man wondered as he accompanied his daughter towards the hacienda.

"That man was not my father's brother… Although he grew up believing he was." Felipe enlightened him. "His real brother is called Dario, he's a doctor, and looks very much like my father. Most people easily confuse them…"

"I see… You know… I am not exactly in any condition for a party. I will be happy to see my wife, if she is here, but I'd need to clean up before attending any social events…" Don Mateo became self-conscious at seeing the well-dressed donas and caballeros entering and exiting the house. "I've spent the last three days riding and sleeping wherever I could… I must smell terribly…"

"Nonsense, Father! You must attend!"

"However," Felipe intervened "if it would make you feel better, you may use my quarters to have a bath, and make yourself presentable. I can even find you some clothes. You and my granduncle seem to be about the same size. I'm sure he won't mind lending you a suit."

"You are very generous, Felipe… But I could just send someone to fetch one of mine from the hacienda."

"If there's any left!" His daughter exclaimed. "The lancers destroyed much of the place and many of our things while Montalvo was searching for me and Mother."

"I understand… In that case, I don't believe I have much of an alternative." The Don answered as he followed Felipe to the house, passing Don Alejandro who was talking with his cousin and his family in the library, without even being noticed. Once in his quarters, Felipe asked for a bath to be prepared. As his fiancée helped Don Mateo shave, while awaiting for the hot water to be brought, the young De la Vega hurried to find Juan Carlos and get him to lend some of his clothes for the father of the woman he loved.

It was about an hour later when Don Mateo emerged from Felipe's room, clean and elegantly dressed, following the young couple to the courtyard.

"Mama!" Ana-Cristina called Dona Francesca, who was, at that moment, talking with the Escalante brothers. "I have a surprise for you." She stated, as she and Felipe made room for the don to go greet his wife.

Francesca sighed and ran into his arms, as many other people witnessing the scene were wondering who would be next to be miraculously resurrected.

Diego welcomed Mateo's appearance, not only because he was happy to see his friend again, but mainly because the new arrival took away some of the overwhelming attention previously directed at him.

ZZZ

It was almost nine in the evening when Don Alejandro gave the signal that he wanted to make a speech, and people gathered around him to listen.

He hesitated a moment before starting, yet, once he did, his words started flowing out of his mouth as if he had been repeating that speech for years and already knew it by heart.

"Dear friends!" He started. That was the easiest part.

"As you very well know, this proved to be, indeed, a very happy one for my family, in general, and for myself, in particular."

"If anyone would have told me a year ago that I would end the year with two sons, four grandchildren, two daughters-in-law, and every member of my extended family near, I would have laughed in his face! I would have thought it would have been absurd… fantastic and utterly impossible.

"Yet, here I am. And here they are…" He said, spreading his hands towards Diego, Dario, their wives, Felipe, the Count and his family, Don Rodrigo and his family as well as the Escalante brothers.

"Yesterday… yesterday started as a really bad day. A day in which I was betrayed by a friend, arrested, almost flogged and sentenced to death alongside the woman who had been a daughter in my heart for half her life. When that young man I am honored to call grandson put his life on the line to help me and Victoria, I feared I was about to lose him. You see, that certainty that things would work out, which had kept us going for so long, the one we lost the day we lost Zorro and was re-planted in our hearts the day El Angel first rode into the pueblo, faded the moment his identity was discovered.

"I, for one, only prayed I'd get to die before having to also bury him. I don't think my heart would have been able to survive, had anything happened to Felipe. Certainly not after I had buried the one I thought was my only remaining son, only ten months earlier.

"But, right then a miracle happened. Our first hero was resurrected and we could again believe that, one way or another, everything would be fine.

"When he returned, so unexpectedly, after we had all been told he had been executed in Spain, he didn't return alone, but brought with him our new Governor and the news of a free California.

"Hope! More then ever, when he returned to us, he brought us back our hope.

"And I have to admit that, when he first rode into town, I was both relieved and a little sad he was back. You see, Victoria never lied to me about the identity of her children's father. Like her, I had no idea who it was under the mask, but I knew very well that I would do my best to honor his memory and take care of both the woman he loved and his child… who turned out to be children. That should have been my fist clue. How many twins are around here, anyway? But then, as far as both Victoria and I knew, my son had died a day before Zorro's capture…

"So, with his return, for a moment there, I was certain I had just lost my grandbabies; that I was never to raise them as my own blood.

"Truth be told, I didn't dream that underneath our hero's mask was my living son, the father of my grandchildren, El Angel's mentor, and the man Victoria was always destined for. Because, let me tell you, her brothers just informed me she had always been in love with Diego. Apparently, she was planning their wedding since she was twelve!"

"Don Alejandro!" Victoria protested, turning red and hiding her face in her husband's chest.

"We all know you love him, Victoria! Just as we know he's loved you for a very long time, my dear!" The old don told her, as the others were silently chuckling.

"Now, where was I? Yes… Yesterday… Well, as I was saying, I doubt anyone was more surprised than I was when he took off that mask. I didn't only get my son back at that moment. I also got my daughter-in-law, and those two wonderful grandchildren I already loved with all my heart, even without knowing they were truly my descendants.

"So… If my legs failed to support me for a moment, I might be forgiven, especially since the first thing my son did after revealing himself was to inform me that I also had another son. A bright, gentle and very much alive son, of whom I cannot help but feel proud, although I have no merit in the way he was raised and the man he's become. I know you will all welcome him and his own family, his beautiful wife Vanesa and my grandson Dieguito into our community. I, for one, couldn't be happier to have them all here. Thirty-three years is a long time to miss of one's son's life, but I'll do my best to make up for it, Dario!" He promised, renewed tears in his eyes.

"And as if all that wasn't overwhelming enough, Diego and Victoria finally got married – ten years later than I would have liked but it's not like I can change anything about that – and my grandson, Felipe, got engaged to a wonderful and brave young woman I will be proud to welcome into our family!

"The strangest thing in all this?" Don Alejandro continued. "It was not that Zorro had returned, nor was it that he was my son or that he had brought my other son with him. Nor was my grandson's sudden ability to hear, speak and fight as a master swordsman. The strangest thing was that this miracle, or series of miracles, to be more precise, we owe, at least in part, to the man who almost took my son away from me forever, our former Alcalde Ignacio de Soto. Had it not been for his plan to deliver Zorro to King Ferdinand, Diego and Dario might have never met; and had it not been for his decision to right his wrong, for his sacrifice, my son wouldn't have had returned to me. Everything… The whole day yesterday, could have ended quite differently… He might have made his mistakes, but what he did saved more than only Diego. His sacrifice saved me, Victoria, Felipe and who knows how many others. Even his ill-conceived plan ended up in me getting my other son back.

"So, before continuing, please join me in a minute of silence for our former Alcalde!"

As he said that, they all bowed their heads, everyone saying a silent prayer for De Soto.

"May he rest in peace and know that we forgive him for all the wrongs he had done while leading this pueblo; if for no other reason, because the ripple effects of his actions had somehow made things better for us. And I am not talking just about my family, or about the Los Angeles, which is finally free from Montalvo's own brand of tyranny, but also about many others.

"My son, Diego, had always believed that the actions of one individual, good or bad, can impact so many more than he will ever even know. Well, I believe there's no better proof of that than the Governor's presence here. A presence determined by a series of events started with De Soto's discovery of Zorro's true identity and leading to the saving of the people in the Governor's own village, the probable anticipation of Mexico's day of independence and our own delivery.

"And, if anyone is still in doubt about the impact one man can have on others, all that someone has to do is look towards our own Jaime Mendoza! This good man, who has heroically endured so much contempt from his superior officers, saved my son's life more than once. Yes, I know he was the one supposed to try and capture him, but, even without knowing it was his friend under the mask, Jaime Mendoza always did his best to help him in his fight for justice.

"And today he received his own Christmas miracle, being reunited with the family he had been separated from for forty years. He, too, gained a father, a brother, a sister-in-law and a niece. And, coincidently, that same sister-in-law and niece, had also been rescued by my son and Ignacio de Soto during their own journey towards Spain.

"So, yes, my friend. This is a good Christmas. The best Christmas! Because it is on this Christmas Day that we can truly look towards the future with renewed hope in our hearts; and we can finally enjoy the fruits of those invisible trees we have planted, with our actions, throughout our lives. May the fruits you all reap be as wonderful as the ones God had offered to my family… and to our friend, Sergeant Mendoza!

"Merry Christmas, Everyone!"

"Merry Christmas!" His audience replied in a chorus, raising their glasses.


	28. Here to stay/ or Epilogue

The night was cold, but their bedroom was warm enough. It was the perfect temperature, and the candles he had placed all around gave it a very romantic atmosphere. Diego would have liked to cover the bed in rose petals, but he didn't really have the time. It wasn't necessary, anyway. Those petals would only be in their way, and neither of them really cared about roses at that moment.

"I love you!" Victoria whispered as she climbed to saddle her husband, taking off her nightshirt.

"I love you, too, more than life itself!" He whispered back, looking lustily at his beautiful wife, his left hand on her waist as his right caressed her breast on its way to her lips. She responded with a smile and seductively kissed his fingers as they reached their intended target.

Brushing away some of the hair from his beloved's face, the same hand then reached for the back of her head, gently pulling it towards him.

"Happy anniversary!" Victoria wished him as she leaned down to kiss him, her skin touching his as their mouths met, and their tongues started dancing with each other.

Soon their bodies followed, joining together in an act they had perfected and could now perform with ease, but one which they rarely had time for those days.

It was their one year anniversary, though, and Dario, Vanesa and two servants had taken over, for the night, looking after the six toddlers who were, at that very moment, sound asleep in the two De la Vega nurseries.

With the arrival of Dario and Vanessa's twin girls, Beatriz Lucia and Carolina Daria, respectively, Diego and Victoria's second son, Dario Juan Sebastian, that past September, they had a lot more work on their hands. They also had to reconsider the living arrangements in the hacienda. After all, having three children crying at the same time was hard enough. Having six was, at least, three times harder.

So, after long discussions, they agreed that they should transform the only remaining guestroom into a second nursery to accommodate the three newborns. The other decision made was that the hacienda needed to be enlarged, a project which Diego and Dario were happy to start together. Of course, they bumped heads on some issues, but they always found a way to make the right amount of concessions so that they could meet in the middle, and everyone, the other included, would be happy with the results. In fact, construction on the second floor they projected was to begin early in the next year, as soon as the work needed to reinforce the foundations would be completed.

A year had already passed since Diego's return, and Dario had first met his father. A year in which Don Alejandro had the chance to truly get to know the son he had never known to have and to finally know the one he had raised. Yet the past year had proven both rewarding and challenging.

Diego was a natural at handling the duties of his new office, although his work was not quite easy.

Despite his family's protests, he had had to be away from Los Angeles a few times in order to visit San Diego and the pueblos of Baja California in reply to several complaints he had received. He, however, only left the pueblo when he felt it was absolutely necessary – like when he had to forcefully remove a garrison commander from office as he was holding back the election of a new Alcalde, determined to maintain his control over the people he was only supposed to protect; when a wildfire north of San Diego had gotten out of control and reinforcements had been needed in order to stop it before it reached a nearby Mission; or when he had to prevent a lancers' rebellion due to unpaid wages –, or when he needed to travel to Monterey to see the Governor.

Then, there were the increased criminality which came with the influx of new arrivals, the conflicts between the Spanish and the Mexican settlers, the conflicts between the dons and so many other issues he had to deal with as Deputy Governor.

While the Governor proved to be fair and extremely efficient, the Mexican government was volatile and unreliable. Fortunately, besides an intrinsic interest in the taxes coming from its most northerner province, nobody in Mexico City paid much attention to California. While, on the one hand, that was a bad thing, considering that, due to that behavior of the Capital salaries for the army and officials were, many times, delayed for months, on the other hand, it also allowed the new Governor and his Deputy true freedom to decide on, and implement several much-needed reforms.

The new Alcalde of Los Angeles was doing marvelously. His family was growing, his cattle were multiplying and the first generation of Tornado's descendants was about to be born.

Under the training regimen imposed by his son, both to the men the Governor had left to serve as his personal contingent (or Army of Zorros, as Don Arturo liked to call them) and the garrison's lancers, the army men had become renowned as the best-trained in the territory and most bandits avoided the pueblo for fear of the men.

Happy with his number of grandchildren, Don Alejandro also made sure to avoid the hacienda when they were at their loudest, an avoidance his sons seemed to imitate. Since their duties provided them with the perfect excuse, they had slowly gotten into the custom of eating almost all their lunches together, at the tavern, but made sure to always be home for dinner with their family.

Felipe also tried to join them whenever he had the time, both because he didn't particularly fancy hearing the babies crying and because that simple lunch with his father and grandfather reminded him of how things used to be. He didn't mind the changes, though. He welcomed them. However, he couldn't stop himself from becoming melancholic from time to time.

Now, with Don Alejandro Alcalde, Diego Deputy Governor, and Dario the town's only doctor, he and his granduncle Juan Carlos had been forced to step up and take over much of the daily running of the hacienda.

Diego was not pleased with that situation, since he had wanted his son to get every chance he had had for a higher education, yet Felipe soon discovered that managing the ranch was his true calling. He loved the animals and proved extremely astute when it came to business. He was also as fearless as his adoptive father and, despite his past as a servant, the vaqueros found it natural to follow his orders. Furthermore, staying in Los Angeles also allowed him to be close to Ana-Cristina and the two were now planning a summer wedding, neither one willing to follow Diego and Victoria's example when it came to patiently waiting to be together.

In the end, they were young, in love and saw no reason to postpone what they both knew to be inevitable.

Vanessa and Victoria, had found it natural to be around each other, as if they were also sisters separated at birth. They relied on each other with their babies, they had each other's back if there was the need for any argument with (any of) the men of the house, and had learned to recognize what the other was thinking just by their facial expressions.

Victoria had taught Vanesa how to cook and Vanesa helped her with her knitting. Neither one actually needed the skills to either cook – since Maria and her helper, were perfectly able to handle the food-related needs of the hacienda – or make clothes or blankets – considering they had enough of each and money to buy more if needed – but, by imparting their knowledge, they both felt they were sharing part of themselves with each other.

Having again become pregnant around the same time and, again, giving birth in the same month, although some two weeks apart from each other, had also sealed their relationship as sisters in their hearts.

Now, with the arrival of the new babies, they were spending most of their time with the Count and his daughter-in-law, their days mainly revolving around the newest generations of De la Vegas.

Dario had taken over for Doctor Hernandez about a couple of months after he had arrived in Los Angeles. The older man was relieved, to say the least, at hearing the news from the pueblo upon his return from Monterey and, even more, to have unexpectedly found a replacement. That was because he had already decided to permanently move to the Californian Capital to spend his remaining years close to his son, his daughter-in-law and his grandchildren.

The saddest day of the past year was when the newlywed Jaime Mendoza and his wife Pilar left Los Angeles, heading, together with his family, to Guadalajara. The De la Vegas promised to one day visit but, with their lives becoming more and more busy, and their family bigger, they had no idea when that would happen. Meanwhile they were content with the letters he was sending them and made sure to keep the former Sergeant informed of the changes taking place in the pueblo.

As for Mendoza, once in Guadalajara, he, indeed, got to have the life he deserved, as the oldest son of the local richest haciendado and soon-to-be new father.

The Escalante brothers parted ways the same time the former Sergeant left.

Francisco, needing to return to his unit, accompanied the Mendozas and soon found himself temporary Alcalde, when the man appointed by the new governor to the job decided to leave the town with all its tax money. By the end of the year he was still in office, although his appointment had just stopped being temporary.

Ramon, who was not an army man but a simple vaquero, decided to remain in Los Angeles and take over the running of the tavern. Victoria helped him as much as she could and he was lucky enough to find a helper and a cook able to respect his sister's food recipes. As the new innkeeper, he soon willingly slipped into the role of Diego's and Don Alejandro's new eyes and ears in the pueblo, the information he provided them with contributing in solving some of the most problematic conundrums they had to deal with as the two most important officials in the area.

Don Emmanuel spent most of his days at the hacienda, enjoying his great-grandchildren, but also the time spent with the three donas of the house, feeling spoiled by them. Every morning, as soon as he woke up, and while the mothers, the servants, the respective fathers and their aunt and uncle tended to the babies, he would slip out and visit his daughter's tomb, keeping her informed about everything happening at the hacienda and with her boys. About twenty minutes later, he would return to have his coffee, and watch with a broad smile all the younger people engaging in their morning conversations, debates and even quarrels. Not a day passed by without him deciding it was a good day.

As for Los Angeles, the people were prospering, their first hospital was being built, and the number of citizens was increasing at a higher rate than ever before. No one was unjustly arrested or persecuted, the lancers were slowly re-gaining the trust of the people and even the criminals caught received a fair trial while executions had become an extremely rare occurrence.

After the events on the passed Christmas Eve, Don Cesar and his family had been ostracized and, by summer they had decided to move to Baja California, where they had some relatives. Don Emmanuel took the chance to buy their hacienda and lands for Juan Carlos and Carolina, although they had no intention, at least at that point, to actually move away from the De la Vega Hacienda.

Yet, not everything was going great.

Diego and Victoria's, as well as Dario and Vanesa's love lives certainly weren't close to what they had imagined.

The three couples in the house shared the responsibility of caring for the children, which had, in the beginning, allowed them all a quiet night together every three days. But, with the two young women getting pregnant again at the end of December 1821, their couple time abruptly came to an end as soon as the pregnancies were advanced enough, and were yet to return to any routine resembling normality.

That was because, besides the increased number of babies in the house, there was also another pregnant woman in the hacienda. One who had no longer expected to have children and who needed to be even more careful with her pregnancy than the two younger women she was living with.

That Christmas Eve, though, for the first time in weeks, Diego and Victoria had time for themselves. Time to fully express their love and passion for each other and, if past experience was any indication, produce at least one new De la Vega heir.

"I'm not sure I want more children, my love." Victoria whispered as they were in the thrills of passion, making Diego stop her for a moment. "Not yet, at least…" She clarified.

"I believe I know of a way to prevent that…" He answered as they re-found their rhythm, his hands moving from her waist to her buttocks.

"Diego!" They heard Dario's panicked voice at the worst possible moment, as they were both about to find their release. "Diego, I'm sorry but it's urgent! Aunt Carolina's water broke but the baby is coming feet-first. I'll have to do a caesarian! I need you!"

"I'll be right there!" He answered as he forgot all about his plan to prevent a new pregnancy. Five minutes later, they were both dressed and ready to do what they could to help the soon-to-be mother.

The surgery was difficult. Juan Carlos spent the entire time crying, and Dona Carolina had come close to losing her life. While her sobbing husband was charged with keeping her sedated during the procedure, Victoria assisted Dario, Felipe donated his blood to her and Diego handled the process, using his brother's biggest syringe. It was a good thing that, between the two of them, the two brothers had discovered that Felipe would be a compatible donor for their aunt, while they were doing their research into how to help her survive the birth.

By Christmas morning, the new mother was resting peacefully, surrounded by her loving family, the pain of her surgery ignored, as she held her own Dieguito in her arms.

"See? I told you a change of air would do you good! I bet you're now happy to have come to California!" The Count uttered, proudly looking at his youngest grandson.

That was also a very good Christmas.


End file.
